GHOTKI: All 20 passengers abducted by dacoits from a bus near Ubauro in Sindh’s Ghotki district have been recovered unharmed, Sukkur Range Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Captain (retired) Faisal Abdullah Chachar said on Tuesday.
The abduction took place on Monday night when around 25 armed dacoits attacked a passenger bus in the Sadiqabad area, injuring the driver and kidnapping several passengers.
DIG Chachar told the media that he reached Ghotki and personally led a large joint operation involving police contingents from Ghotki, Sukkur, Khairpur and Kashmore, along with personnel from the Rangers. The operation was carried out under his command alongside senior officers, including Ghotki SSP Muhammad Anwar Khetran, Sukkur SSP Azhar Khan Mughal and Khairpur SSP Samiullah Soomro.
“We rescued all the hostages unharmed after engaging the dacoits in a gunfight,” the DIG said, adding that police had swiftly blocked all routes leading to the Katcha area, preventing the attackers from taking the hostages deeper into the riverine belt.
The recovered passengers later informed police that two dacoits were injured during the operation. Meanwhile, a police constable sustained injuries to his hand during the exchange of fire and was shifted to Rahim Yar Khan Hospital for treatment.
A police spokesperson said a search operation against the dacoits was still under way.
The Rahim Yar Khan district police officer clarified that the passengers were not abducted from his jurisdiction but from a section of a link road passing through Guddu in Sindh. “Sindh police have recovered all the hostages from the armed dacoits,” he said.
Earlier, Mirpur Mathelo Deputy Superintendent of Police Abdul Qadir Soomro told media that 14 passengers had initially been recovered. He added that one hostage later died of a heart attack in a sugarcane field, while two others were shifted to hospital for medical treatment. The deceased’s body was moved to Ubauro Hospital.
An earlier statement by DIG Chachar had said that 10 kidnapped passengers were rescued during an initial overnight operation.
The attack
According to videos circulated on social media after 9:30pm on Monday, a passenger said a Sadabahar Company coach had departed for Quetta from Sadiqabad at around 8pm. Near the Murid Shaikh area close to the M-5 Motorway, the bus turned towards Guddu at the Punjab-Sindh border.
Around 65 kilometres into the route, armed dacoits intercepted the coach and opened fire. They smashed the windows, boarded the bus and ordered passengers to disembark, sparing female passengers.
The Katcha region, a riverine belt along the Indus River spanning parts of Sindh and Punjab, is notorious for banditry. For decades, armed gangs operating in the area have been involved in kidnappings for ransom, extortion, killings and highway robberies.
PTI condemnation
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh condemned the incident, questioning the performance of the Sindh and Punjab police.
“More than 20 citizens were kidnapped, and now their bids will be put up,” he said, adding that the authorities had failed to protect the public. He described Katcha areas as “no-go zones” and demanded the immediate release of all hostages.
QiYJGhKuDBztwvJaDxfdmOXj