KHAIRPUR, April 14: Thirty-three detained haris, including women and children, were freed from the bondage of landlords in Fatah Bughio here on Wednesday and were allowed to go to their villages in Kotri.

The Ranipur police produced them before the Khairpur district and sessions judge, Nisar Muhammad Shaikh, who, after hearing them, ordered the police to provide them with protection and escort them to their villages in Kotri area.

One of the released haris, Satram, had filed an application at the Pakistan Human Rights Commission, which was forwarded to the judge who directed the judicial magistrate of Sobhodero, Ghulam Shabbir Soomro, to take appropriate action in this regard.

On Thursday, along with the police, the judicial magistrate visited the lands of landlords in the jurisdiction of the Fatah Bughio police station, and recovered the haris.

The haris include Satram, Rehmo, Amb, Sanwan, Versi, Najam, Ms Meran, Ms Lakhman, Ms Hikrani, Ms Pathani, Ms Maana, Ms Umlan, Ms Atiya, Ms Samjoon and Shedo. Children as young as five years were among those freed from the bondage of landlords.

Later, talking to newsmen, haris said that for the past three years they had been detained by landlords. The haris would work during the day and were locked up at night.

ACCIDENT: One person was killed and 15 others were injured when a Sukkur-bound passenger wagon (R-1782) going from Nawabshah overturned and fell into a ditch near the Degree College Karondi.