Free at last: Kidnapped woman rescued during police operation

Shikarpur police have launched an operation to recover kidnapped persons being held in katcha areas


Our Correspondent February 15, 2016
Shikarpur police have launched an operation to recover kidnapped persons being held in katcha areas PHOTO: FILE

SUKKUR: Shikarpur police recovered a kidnapped woman and arrested a number of suspects during an operation to recover a minor girl, F*, who was kidnapped from Thull eight years ago as well as two others who were kidnapped from Khanpur over two months ago.

The operation was conducted on Sunday night in the katcha area of Khanpur, district Shikarpur and Ghouspur, district Kashmore-Kandhkot.

Shikarpur SSP Nasir Aftab, along with hundreds of police officials, including commandos, and armoured personnel carriers, raided katcha villages of Khanpur and Ghouspur on Sunday night, including Yakoob Teghani, Gaji Teghani, Doso Teghani and others. The police cordoned off the entire area before moving forward with their operation. Once the criminals saw the police, they opened fire, which was returned by the police.

The two-hour long exchange of fire, the police managed to arrest some suspects and recovered a woman identified as S*. The woman is a resident of Karachi and was kidnapped from Sehwan, when she and her five friends had come to pay homage to Qalandar Lal Shahbaz, two years ago. However, the police failed to recover F as well as two other men who were kidnapped from Khanpur more than two months ago.

S told local journalists that her husband works as a labourer in a factory. According to her two years ago she along with her five friends went to Sehwan Sharif to pay homage to Qalandar Lal Shahbaz where they were all kidnapped by armed men who shifted them to the katcha area of Khanpur. A man named Shahzado Teghani forcibly married S and her other friends were also forced to marry other men, she told the media.

S thanked the police for recovering her and appealed to the Shikarpur SSP to recover her friends as well, who are still in the clutches of their captors. The operation was still underway till the filing of this report. A policeman and between three and four suspects have been killed during the crossfire.

Last year three Baloch girls were recovered from the katcha area of Shikarpur and they had claimed that other women, kidnapped from Karachi and other areas, have also been kept in the katcha. But the SSP Aftab had categorically denied the presence of the kidnapped women in the katcha, claiming that he had cleared entire katcha area and no woman was found. S's statement before the police and the media has revealed that at least five other women have been kept in the katcha and her statement also supports the statements of the Baloch girls.

The SSP was not available for comments and his media liaison officer, Naseem Shah, said that the officer was busy in the katcha operation.

*Names hidden to protect identities

Published in The Express Tribune, February 16th, 2016.

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