SUKKUR, Dec 20: A complete shutter-down strike was observed in Ghotki on Sunday in protest against the failure of police to recover additional session judges Abdul Wahab Abbasi and Farooq Ahmed Channa.

All business centres and markets remained closed till 12 noon. Thousand of people took out a procession against police and held a sit-in at the People's Chowk for an hour.

Addressing the protesters, Sikandar Lakho, Jamal Shah and Yousuf Abbasi said that if the kidnapped judges were not recovered within a week, they would block the National Highway and railways network.

They warned that they would not open the highway and railway track till the judges were safely recovered. Additional sessions judge Abdul Wahab Abbasi is a resident of Ghotki. His son, Murtaza Abbasi, said their family was undergoing trauma while the government had done nothing concrete in this regard.

Meanwhile, the Shikarpur police conducted raids on six villages of the riverine area for recovery of two additional session judges and arrested 47 people, including 13 women and nine children.

These villages include Siddiq Abbasi, Mehram Brohi, Adam Brohi, Juhi, Kenal and Jhandi Brohi. The police conducted house-to-house search and claimed to have recovered five illegal guns, four rifles and hundreds of bullets.

Bandit Shamoo Jatoi, who is said to be involved in kidnapping of judges, actually is a Rind Baloch and Jatoi is his sub-caste. Three villages in the Dakhan police area including Hafizabad, Walan Kharoos and Chanessar were still cordoned by the police. Various police check posts have been established in the area while all vehicles are being thoroughly searched by the police.