Police recover Hindu cobbler after kidnappers release ransom video

A Hindu cobbler was recovered by police in Sindh's Ghotki district on Tuesday after kidnappers released a ransom video demanding five million rupees from his family for his safe return home.

Murtaza Wahab, the spokesperson of the Sindh government, confirmed to The Express Tribune that Mohan Lal was back home "safe and sound".

A ransom video of the cobbler had gone viral on Tuesday, prompting police into action.

Mohan Lal, who belongs to the schedule caste Hindu community, left his home in Daharki on May 8 and did not return.

In the footage, a badly beaten and bleeding Lal can be seen making an appeal for his ransom amount in Sindhi. “I’m Mohan Lal. Please arrange Rs50 lac otherwise they will kill me.”

A hand, ostensibly of his abductor’s, appears in the frame and roughs him up more. A voice is heard saying, in Sindhi again,

“To whom are you appealing for ransom. Ask your brother”.Lal then whimpers to his family for help, urging them to arrange the amount as soon as possible.

The cobbler’s abductors can be seen hitting him repeatedly with a stick. “Ask your family to share the video as much as they can. Whoever is watching the video also forward it. So they can arrange the money,” demands the voice. And Lal, who can be seen sitting on the ground, clothed in a blood stained shalwar kameez, complies.

The video had gained traction on social media, with people demanding the government to come to the cobbler’s rescue.

Lal’s family had also appealed to the Sindh chief minister, Sindh IGP and other relevant authorities for his recovery. “We don’t have Rs50 in the house to buy ration. How can we afford to pay Rs50 lacs ransom?” said Lal’s minor daughter, speaking to the local media.