Hundreds of people Protest against abduct of Hindu Girl

[Cityboy]

Three-year-old Hindu girl snatched from outside temple
Fed-up Kashmore residents condemn police and elected representatives.
SUKKUR:Some residents of Kashmore staged a sit-in outside a police station on Thursday to protest the kidnapping of a girl from Hindu Mohalla Wednesday night.The three-year-old girl, identified as Anchal, had reportedly gone to a temple with her eight-year-old sister, Kashish, and mother on Wednesday.

When the sisters stepped out of the temple to buy some snacks, three armed men approached the two girls, grabbed Anchal and managed to escape.The kidnapped girl’s father, Ganesh Chand – who is a cable operator by profession – toldThe Express Tribunethat both his daughters were eating snacks outside the temple when the armed men arrived on a motorcycle. The suspects reportedly first tried to grab hold of a boy, but he managed to escape, after which they grabbed Anchal and sped off.


According to Ganesh Chand, one of the kidnappers, who was holding Anchal, fell off the motorcycle after travelling a distance of 25 to 30 meters. However, as people rushed towardshim, his accomplices threatened to open fire at them, forcing them to back off and allowing the suspects to escape.When informed, the police reached the scene and tried to trace the kidnappers, but to no avail. According to DPO KashmoreSyed Asad Raza Shah, the kidnappers had managed to cross over to Balochistan. He said, however, that the police are trying to find the girl as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the police have yet to register a case against the suspects.


[/COLOR]In protest, the Hindu Panchayat and the Shahree Action Committee called for a complete shutter-down strike on Thursday, when all the main bazaars and shopping centres in the city remained closed.Hundreds of people, including Shahree Action Committee chairman Qadir Nawaz Jakhrani and Ganesh Chand, also gathered outside the police station and shouted slogans against the police, demanding that the girl be found immediately.Jakhrani condemned the Kashmore police for their failure to control crime, especially the kidnapping-for-ransom cases. “Neither the police nor the elected representatives are taking any interest in working towards curbing crime,” he said.

“It feels like that they [police and elected representatives] want us to leave the district.”Traders as well as other Hindus live with thestress of kidnapping, said Jakhrani, who criticised the men elected from Kashmore, going so far as to call MNA Gul Mohammad Jakhrani and MPA Mir Ghalib Domki “indifferent to the miseries of their voters”.While Hindu Panchayat president Mukhi Rano Mal was unavailable for comment, his son, Inder Lal, toldThe Express Tribunethat his father had recently undergone a bypass surgery and was therefore currentlyadvised bed rest.


Meanwhile, Hindu Panchayat (Sukkur) president Mukhi Eshwar Lal expressed his anxiety regarding the “lawlessness in Kashmore”, saying that “the Hindus are being targeted particularly in this district, which is condemnable”.While earlier, law and order with regard to the targeting of Hindus was terrible in other districts as well, including Ghotki, Jacobabad, Shikarpur and Sukkur, it has become much better in most parts of the province after directives were issued by home minister Zulfiqar Mirza, said the district president. He claimed that the situation is now bad only in Kashmore district, where Hindu children are often kidnapped for ransom.


Sometimes, when the media highlights such kidnapping cases, it adds to the troubles of the Hindu community as “it further teases the kidnappers, who otherwise think that the Hindus are without tribal backing,” said Eshwar Lal.Citing the example of the three young menwho were kidnapped from Salehpat one and a half years ago, Eshwar Lal said that the case had generated so much media attention that the kidnappers eventually felt pressured and killed one of the men as a result. MNA Ramesh Lal’s cousin, Suresh Kumar, was also kidnapped one year back, he said, adding that the incident had become so “high-profile” that the kidnappers had opened fire at Suresh Kumar, who was injured.Eshwar Lal appealed to the president, the prime minister and the home minister to take notice of the matter and post “honestand dedicated police officers” in Kashmore to control the law and order situation.DIG Larkana Din Mohammad Baloch said that he too is personally vested in the matter, adding that the kidnapped girl will hopefully be found soon.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 26th, 201


http://www.tribune.com.pk/story/81839/three-year-old-hindu-girl-snatched-from-outside-temple/


on TwitterThe URL Three-year-old Hindu girl snatched from outside temple – The Express Tribune

 

[mehru]

What is more worrying that there seems to be a pattern of kidnapping for ransom, starting this year and has gained intensity. However, they are also targeting other communities, not only Hindus.

Two boys kidnapped within a week, Hindus protest – The Express Tribune

Police thwart Hindu kidnapping attempt – The Express Tribune


Hindus lose heart as kidnappings rise

KARACHI: The Hindu families living in interior Sindh are planning to move to other cities as an increasing number of their boys are being kidnapped.

When five-year-old Dheeraj Kumar was released by kidnappers after 35 days on Wednesday, all his family could think of was to leave Kandhkot and settle somewhere else. He ran towards an overjoyed father while his mother was busy praying for his safe return at a dargah in Shikarpur.

Dheeraj’s kidnappers had demanded Rs10 million in ransom but had to surrender when the police intervened. While Dheeraj is surely not the only boy kidnapped in Kashmore, as kidnapping of Hindu children have once again taken a toll in upper Sindh, he is definitely the first one to be released without the payment of ransom.

Since the beginning of this year, at least eight children of this family have been kidnapped and released in return of a hefty ransom. Four-year-old Peer Chand was released for Rs200,000, five-year-old Pewish Kumar for Rs330,000, five-year-old Sagar Kumar for Rs170,000, seven-year-old Veeraj Kumar for Rs350,000 and three-year-old Mahik Kumari for Rs100,000.

These are only those cases that have been reported to the police and it is believed that the number of unreported cases is much higher.

Narrating their ordeal, Dheeraj’s uncle, Gyan Chand, said that the boy was kidnapped in front of them on the day of Eid. He was taken to the nearby village of landlord Ali Memon Khoso, which is generally a forbidden territory for the residents.

When around 40 residents followed Dheeraj to Khoso’s village with a resolution not to return without saving him, the police intervened and sent them back, promising the child would be returned soon, Chand recalled.

Later, the police started telling them that Khoso will not let the child go without ransom and that they should make arrangements for money. “It was only after the media and the civil society intervened that there was pressure on the kidnappers to release the child without taking ransom,” he said.

DPO Kashmore Syed Asad Raza Sheikh said that the boy was recovered after a heavy contingent of police confronted the bandits. The Hindu residents insisted, however, that cases of kidnappings have increased due to the weak law and order situation. Chand also pointed out that the crime rate was much lower “when the army had control in Musharraf’s era”.

One of the underlying factors behind these kidnappings is that all these children either belong to one family or have some relations to business-oriented families, said Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child’s provincial manager Suhail Ahmed Abro.

Since the families always agree to the conditions put forward by the kidnappers, their children have become more vulnerable, he said, adding that the criminals target them due to lack of resistance by the victims.

Hindu residents agree that children of other communities are also kidnapped but the rate is still higher among Hindu families.

Dheeraj’s uncle accused the Baloch population and the police of being the masterminds, who have made it into a business by minting millions of rupees from poor people.

Residents have also complained that the Hindu MNAs and MPAs have also failed to protect their community. Since they are not representatives of the community but selected members of ruling parties, “why would they serve their people?” questioned Dr Ramesh Kumar, patron of Pakistan Hindu Council.

Meanwhile, Dheeraj’s father, Shashpal Das, said he is “extremely happy” that his son has returned safely. Too afraid to name the accused, he said that he would take his son to the dargah in Shikarpur, where his mother is waiting to receive him before their gods.

On the other hand, Chand is too tired of the lawless life in his district. “I will go to Karachi and sell channa cholay on a push-cart,” he said. “I won’t stay here now as there is no life like this.”

Hindus lose heart as kidnappings rise – The Express Tribune

 

[mehru]

Sorry for bringing up this old thread but it is important to follow the news. 3 year old Anchal Kumari is back home.

YouTube - Anchal Kumari Recover Pkg