HYDERABAD, Aug 30: The Hyderabad circuit bench of the Sindh High Court on Thursday directed the DPO of Umerkot to produce in court on Sept 13 Ms. Bakhtawar, who, according to her mother, had embraced Islam under duress.

The court also issued notices to additional advocate general, and police officers, including SP investigations of Umerkot, SHO and in-charge of Umerkot police station who had been cited as respondents in the petition filed by Shrimati Bhagi, the girls’ mother, through her lawyer, Sajjad Ahmed Chandio advocate.

The petitioner who belonged to Meghwar community, which the Hindues considered low caste, said that private respondents Ghani, Haji Bachal and Ali with eight other armed persons kidnapped her daughter, Bakhtawar, 14, in her presence and her brothers Ramesh and Ganesh on Aug 2.

She said that she lodged a case at Umerkot police station where the respondent SHO took advantage of her being illiterate and twisted the facts in the FIR.

Twenty-three days after the incident on Aug 25 the private respondents along with 30 more armed men and SHO of Umerkot police station produced her daughter before civil judge and judicial magistrate-II of Umerkot where the girl admitted under duress that she had embraced Islam and married Ghani, a private respondent.

Ms Bhagi said that at 14 years her daughter was a minor but the learned prosecution inspector did not put a single question to her about any pressure or threat before she read out her statement. She rejected her daughter’s statement as untrue and said that she and her family had not known about her whereabouts since she was taken away by the respondents at gunpoint and they has still not seen her since her alleged nikah with Ghani.