Crying foul: Recovery of hostages from Jagan village sparks controversy

Rangers and police claim the traders were rescued from the native village of MPA Abid Bhayo.

SUKKUR:

The recovery of hostages from Shikarpur has caused a dispute between law enforcers and the Bhayo brothers.

The police and Rangers claim that the hostages were recovered from Jagan, the native village of MPA Abid Bhayo. The latter has refuted the claims, terming it a deliberate attempt to malign him.

According to Shikarpur police officials, three traders, identified as Arif Mehmood, Faisal and Naeem, hailing from Faisalabad, were kidnapped near Matiyari around a month ago, while they were on the way to Faisalabad from Karachi. When the Rangers personnel had raided Jagan village five days ago, they had found the three kidnapped persons. They had not, however, disclosed their discovery.

On the contrary, sources claimed that the kidnapped persons had been released by their captors after they paid the ransom amount of Rs5 million. The kidnappers, according to these sources, had released the traders on Friday night near Ranipur. Shikarpur police are insisting, however, that the kidnapped persons were rescued from Jagan.

Pakistan Peoples Party MPA Abid Bhayo, addressing a press conference at Bhayo House, Shikarpur, on Friday night, condemned the allegations against him and his brother, Babul Bhayo. The latter is also the PPP president of the district. Abid said that he had informed the party’s leadership about the matter and he will go to court if the matter was not resolved soon.

Despite repeated attempts to contact the Bhayo brothers, they could not be reached for comments. Bhayo House spokesperson Raja Marfani told The Express Tribune that a large contingent of Rangers personnel has been stationed outside the Bhayo House for the last few days. He added that the police and Rangers were giving different statements regarding the recovery of the traders. “Some officials say that the traders were recovered from Jagan; others claim they were recovered from Garhi Yasin while yet others claims that they were recovered from Ranipur.” Marfani said that the Bhayo family had been serving the people of Shikarpur since the last few decades and enjoyed much respect in the area. He alleged that their opponents were trying to malign their character.

Shikarpur SSP Jawed Jaskani did not answer his phone despite repeated calls and messages. On the other hand, the public relations officer for Shahbaz Rangers claimed that he was waiting for the details of the incident and would be able to respond to any queries only after he had the information. The officer did not get back to The Express Tribune till the filing of this story.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 25^th, 2014.