HYDERABAD, Sept 15: The Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit bench, has appointed the district and sessions judge of Sanghar to conduct an inquiry into disappearance of 117 peasants and submit a report in the court within one week.

The order was passed by Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany after he had received a report from the prosecution inspector on behalf of the DPO of Sanghar, stating that the peasants could not be found.

The report stated that the TPO of Khipro and the SHO of Khahi had searched the area and found huts of the peasants but they had left the area a long time ago. Petitioner's counsel Ghulamullah Chang expressed dissatisfaction over the report and asked as to how was it possible that 117 haris had disappeared.

He said that his client believed that the peasants were in unlawful detention of respondent landlords. Respondents' counsel Hashim Memon opposed the contention of petitioner's counsel and said that it would amount to abuse of the process because efforts had been made by police to locate the haris but they had not been found.

Assistant Advocate-General of Sindh Mashooq Samoon requested the court to refer the matter to the judge of Sanghar for conducting inquiry. The court ordered the inquiry to be conducted by the Sanghar judge and directed petitioner and respondents to appear in the SHC bench on September 18.

Petitioner Kanji Kolhi, resident of Boorloo village in the Nagarparkar area, has filed the petition saying that respondent landlords had offered the peasants 1/2 share of crops and cattle pen of buffaloes for cultivating their land. The landlords had also assured the peasants that they would be provided loan, food, medicines and clothing till harvesting of crops, he added.

However, they neither provided loan nor proper food or accommodation to the peasants, he alleged. Petitioner said that for redressal of the grievances, he approached the authorities including the SHO but to no avail.

Respondents' guards had been harassing and maltreating the peasants to prevent them from putting up any demand to the landlords and also subjecting them to forced labour, he said.

He prayed the court to order a surprise raid on the land of respondents in Deh Goreeto, Khipro taluka, Sanghar district, for recovery of the peasants and their production before it. He also sought registration of an FIR against respondent landlords and their managers as well as payment of compensation of Rs100,000 to the peasants.