The fourth biggest city of the province, Mirpurkhas, is in the grip of criminals, as high-profile kidnapping cases continue and a high school teacher was kidnapped late night Thursday in the limits of Old Mirpur police station.
Police said local landlord and government teacher Waris Panhwer, son of Aaqib Panhwer, was returning to village Mohammad Bux Panhwer near the Old Mirpur city on his motorcycle after attending a religious ceremony in Mirpurkhas. Some unidentified kidnappers intercepted him on gunpoint and kidnapped him, leaving behind his motorcycle. On Friday morning the vehicle was recovered from a field near his village and when Waris did not return home, his family members approached the local police.
Hundreds of persons belonging to different communities took to the streets and blocked the main Mirpurkhas-Sanghar and Mirpurkhas-Umerkot roads for around eight hours to protest against the kidnapping of landlord and growing rate of serious crimes in Mirpurkhas. The protesters also burnt tyres demanding the authorities to recover the abducted man. Supreme Court Bar Council member Salahuddin Panhwer and office bearers of different non-governmental organisations also took part in the protest.
Talking to journalists, Salahuddin and others warned that if Waris is not recovered within 3 days and the accused arrested, the protest campaign will be extended including shutter down strikes and hunger strikes. DPO Mirpurkhas Riaz Ahmed Soomro has constituted a special police team for investigating the kidnapping incident. When contacted, an Old Mirpur police official said that no complainant had reached the police station to register a case.
Hindu traders Dr Kesho Mal and Suresh Kumar have also been kidnapped within the past week and still no clues have been established of their whereabouts. Another landlord Ali Murad Raja, who was also kidnapped within the Old Mirpur police limits, had returned home about a week ago after striking a secret deal with his kidnappers.
