Safe return: Abducted Hindu trader recovered

Sharma says he was kidnapped by men posing as police officers.

QUETTA: A well-known Hindu trader, who went missing some two months ago, safely arrived home in Uthal, the headquarters of the Lasbela district, on Wednesday.

According to the Station House Officer Bela Attaullah, the Khuzdar assistant commissioner informed him that Ganga Ram Sharma was recovered at a local hotel in the Naal area of Khuzdar district.  The Bela Police succeeded in recovering him (Sharma) and brought him back to his hometown.

Sharma went missing some two months back from his shop in Lasbela. It could not be confirmed whether his relatives had paid any ransom for his recovery. However, the police are investigating the matter.

Talking to reporters, Sharma said he was sitting in his shop two months ago when some unidentified persons disguised as police officers told him that the Uthal DPO had summoned him.

“They blindfolded me in the car and I did not know where we were headed,” he said.

He added that the kidnappers would converse with him in Urdu and denied that any ransom was paid.

In Balochistan, kidnappers commonly target the vulnerable Hindu community, whose members tend to be well-off because they are traditionally traders and businessmen.

In February, two Hindu traders were kidnapped from Khuzdar district, while in April, chairperson of the Hinglaj Mata committee Ganga Ram Motiyani was kidnapped from Bela, Lasbela tehsil.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2012.