SUKKUR: Three poor labourers sleeping in the autaq (guest room) of a notable’s residence in Ghaus Bakhsh Bijarani village of Tangwani town in Kandhkot-Kashmore district were kidnapped by a gang of dacoits the other day.

It emerged on Tuesday morning that the heavily armed gang sneaked into the guest room, overpowered the sleeping labourers -- Mir Khan Shaikh, Sohrab Shaikh and Ali Shaikh – and took them away at gunpoint. The victims, residents of Sukkur, were hired by a private road construction firm and provided night stay facility by the notable of the area at his residence, located within the limits of the Karampur police station.

The incident was reported to the police who, along with footprint trackers, followed the suspects’ footprints which led them to a point from where gang-infested riverine area of Kandhkot-Kashmore district begins. The team avoided moving into the highly dangerous area and returned to the village.

Family members and other relatives of the victims told local reporters that it was indeed a routine incident of kidnapping for ransom but they could not afford such payments as they were faced with abject poverty.

They appealed to the Sindh government, Rangers, police and other authorities to help safe recovery of their loved-ones at the earliest to rid them of the trauma.

The reporters noted that with the fresh incident, the number of people kidnapped by gangs in this district over the last few weeks had risen to 18.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2024