A police officer, his son and three other policemen, who were kidnapped by armed bandits were recovered in a joint operation conducted by the Rangers and police in Sindh’s Shikarpur district, an official said on Tuesday.

On Oct 11, over 30 armed dacoits, belonging to the Budhani Jatoi gang, had stormed the Kot Shahu police station in the katcha (riverine) area of Khanpur and abducted five policemen, including SHO Brohi and his son, who is an under-training cop.

Officials believed the brazen abduction occurred to pressure police into releasing Mahar Budhani Jatoi, who was arrested from Qambar-Shahdadkot. A massive operation is under way against the gangs operating in the northern Sindh and southern Punjab region.

A case against 14 suspected dacoits belonging to the Budhani Jatoi gang and their 16 unidentified facilitators had been registered under sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and Anti-Terrorism Act at the Kot Shahu police station.

The nominated suspects included Dado, Banhu, Abdul Haq, Jabbar, Ghulam Mustafa, Popat, Ali Murad, Hazooro, Gaman and Shaukat.

A large police contingent had chased the gangsters deep into the riverine area of Kot Shahu but could not reach them. Subsequently, a Rangers-police force equipped with armoured personnel carriers (APCs) rolled into the adjacent Naparkot riverine area to rescue the hostages and arrest the gangsters.

However, until Oct 14, the law enforcement agencies had failed to locate them.

Confirming the development to Dawn.com today, Shikarpur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Khalid Mustafa Korai said the arms and ammunition taken away by dacoits were also recovered from their possession.

He said the abductees were recovered during a search operation in Kot Shahu Police Station’s jurisdiction. They were identified as SHO Brohi’s son Mohammad Ali, head moharir Kot Shahu Police Station Naeem Gopang, policemen Jan Mohammad Bakhrani and Ayaz Kumbhar.

SSP Korai further said joint IBOs by the rangers and police continued in the riverine areas of upper Sindh to eliminate dacoits, adding that the Shikarpur district was a dacoit-infested area.