SUKKUR, July 31: Eight persons, including five women and two children, were arrested by police during a house-to-house search in Changi Maqam, near Shikarpur, early Friday morning.

Police made the arrests in connection with the kidnapping of trader Santosh Kumar in Larkana. Those arrested were identified as Razia, Umra, Soomal, Safia, Pathani, Shaman, Asghar and Suhno.

A heavy contingent of the Shikarpur and Larkana police cordoned off the area and carried out house-to-house searches.

The raid was conducted to arrest Ameen Shaikh and Jabbar Shaikh and their accomplices, including Dado Shaikh, allegedly involved in the kidnapping of Mr Kumar.

Police claimed to have recovered several illegal weapons, including pistols, guns and rifles, from the searched houses.

It was learnt that Ameen Shaikh and Jabbar Shaikh had escaped the area before the raid.

Meanwhile, driver Abdul Hakeem Shaikh, whose car was used in the kidnapping of Mr Kumar, after his arrest told police that the kidnappers had used several cars and later shifted the hostage to his car and took him to the Tibbi Paida village, and then to the Budani village and the Abdul Rehman Jatoi village. He said the hostage was shifted to Shikarpur from the village where he was kept in a house, rented through Dado Shaikh. He said the kidnappers contacted other criminals after which the hostage was shifted to some undisclosed place.

WATER THEFT: Shahbaz Rangers' personnel raided the Taj Minor near Kandhkot on Thursday and arrested two landlords, Mohammad Umer and Maula Bux Machi, on the charge of taking an illegal watercourse from the minor. The personnel closed the watercourse.