UMERKOT: A man allegedly involved in assaulting and stripping a Hindu woman in the bazaar of New Chhor town of Umerkot district was remanded in police custody for three days on Wednesday.

The suspect was arrested on Tuesday night after a case was registered against him under Sections 354-A (assault or use of criminal force to woman and stripping her of her clothes) and 337-A (punishment of shajjah) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The New Chhor police produced the suspect in the court of the 2nd judicial magistrate, who gave the suspect in police custody on a three-day remand.

According to the mother of the victim, her 30-year-old married daughter, resident of Senhoi village near Chhor, had come to visit her some days back for Diwali. In the evening she and her daughter went to buy some ornaments to the goldsmith bazaar, where the suspect followed them, grabbed the young woman from the hair and dragged her.

Resultantly, her shirt tore and fell apart.

She, however, stated in the FIR that some citizens intervened and saved her daughter and covered her with a piece of cloth. Also the suspect escaped, abusing and threatening them. Minority MNA of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Lal Malhi, PPP minority MPA Dr Khatumal Jewan, nationalist leader Abdul Wahid Arisar, local non-governmental organisations and civil society members of Umerkot have condemned the incident and asked the authorities to bring the culprit to justice after a proper investigation.

Umerkot SSP Abdul Qayyoom Pitafi and investigating police official Altaf Shah told Dawn over the phone that area people informed him and the New Chhor SHO that there was a dispute between the Soomra community and the Mangrios over a plot of land, which might have been behind this episode.

Apparently the woman or her family had nothing to do with the dispute.