Stealing valuables: Van hijacked by ‘armed’ passengers in Khairpur

Driver reports no encounter took place, police insist otherwise.

SUKKUR:

At least three passengers along with a passenger van were abducted from Thehri bypass situated in Babarloi police limits in Khairpur on Saturday night.

A van carrying eight passengers was on its way to Sukkur from Karachi when armed bandits, who were disguised as passengers, held the driver at gunpoint and forced him to follow their instructions. After covering some distance, the abductors released the driver and took away the van along with the passengers.

The Babarloi police reported that the driver immediately informed them and they started chasing the bandits. They found the van near a date orchard in Ubri from where they followed the footprints of the bandits with the help of sniffer dogs. There was an encounter between the police and the bandits, after which the suspects took advantage of the darkness and escaped from the scene, leaving the hostages behind, the police said.

They also reported that the driver and the owner of the van, Saadullah Pathan, that out of seven passengers, four were armed bandits, who overpowered him at  the bypass and forced him out of the van. They took away three passengers along with them. The head constable, Faiz Mohammad, told The Express Tribune that the bandits managed to escape and the passengers - Kaleem Memon, Mujahid Memon and Nazar Mohammad Memon - were sent home.

On the contrary, when The Express Tribune contacted the driver he reported that when the armed men tried to take away the bus with the passengers, he resisted and was beaten up by them. He went up to the motorway police near Karamabad from where he called the company and got the tracker to block the vehicle. After informing the company, he got in touch with the Babarloi police. According to Pathan, when he reached the spot, the van and the passengers were left abandoned and the police were already present there. “The police cordoned off the date orchard and started firing, saying there were bandits in hiding,” he said. “Later, they said the bandits had escaped after taking advantage of the darkness.” Pathan insisted there were no bandits there and that no encounter took place between the police and the alleged kidnappers.

The police have, however, yet to register the case.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 2^nd, 2013.