SANGHAR, April 23: Sanghar police have begun extorting money from transporters on the pretext of impounding their vehicles for the referendum, complain local transporters.

The police have erected barricades on roads leading to Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah, Hyderabad, at nine places on Sanghar-Nawabshah only, where they stop pickups, wagons, mini trucks and buses, demand bribe while threatening to impound vehicles for the referendum duty.

Many owners of these vehicles told Dawn that they had purchased these vehicles on instalments which were to be paid every month.

They said that due to drought and the consequent collapse of local economy, there was no business and they hardly earned enough for daily needs of their families.

Many vehicle owners have started hiding their transport and will bring them on roads after the referendum.

The commuters are suffering a lot due to the shortage of the transport and have to wait for long hours at various stops of Sanghar and other towns.