PAKISTAN: The abduction for ransom of a minor girl reveals a miscarriage of justice and the nexus between the police and dacoits

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) August 2, 2011 -- Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-130-2011
http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-130-2011

2 August 2011

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PAKISTAN: The abduction for ransom of a minor girl reveals a miscarriage of justice and the nexus between the police and dacoits

ISSUES: Missing; abduction; child rights; miscarriage of justice; no rule of law
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Dear friends,

A six and a half year old girl was abducted by dacoits, said to be the henchmen of a tribal leader four years ago and her whereabouts remain unknown. All the persons involved in the abduction who were named in the First Information Report (FIR) were released on bail by the Supreme Court on the basis that the FIR was filed very late. The high police officials claim that the girl was sold to many criminal gangs and that she is still alive. Meanwhile the father of the minor is receiving threatening calls from the released persons for indicting them in the FIR. The government first took up the case but because of the involvement of powerful politicians from its allied parties it then disassociated itself from the case.

The girl should now be eleven and half years old and it is feared that she will be used for nefarious designs to earn money as the father is unable to pay the huge amount of ransom demanded being a poor farmer.

The disappearance of abductees is a miscarriage of justice by the higher courts caused by government's political expediency to appease its allies and because of the fear of exposing the nexus between the police and criminal elements (dacoits) in the rural areas of the province.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Fazeela Sarki was six and half years of age when she was abducted. The daughter of Abdul Razzak Sarki, a resident of village Gharee Hassan Taluqa Thul Dist: Jacobabad, Sindh province. She was kidnapped on 23 March, 2007 at 7 p.m. for ransom by a group of notorious dacoits headed by Budho Darhyal. It is known that Budho lives in a forest area called Kucha area between the two districts of the province. The government of Sind had already announced a head money reward of Rs. 2 million for his arrest.

At the time of the abduction Fazeela was playing in the street where her father and uncle were purchasing something from a shop. Suddenly the notorious dacoits namely, Qadir Bux alias Qadrooson, Allah Warayo Sarki, Baloo, Mushtaque, Shahnawaz and Budho appeared in the street on motor bikes. They kidnapped Fazeela by threatening the by-standers with their guns and shooting in the air.

Abdul Razzak, the father, went to the tribal chief, Sardar Zulfiqar Sarki, who said he could not help in the case. Abdul then went to lodge an FIR in Garhee Hassan police station where the station house officer (SHO) Mr. Badar Jatoi refused to mention the names of the notorious dacoits, advising that if they named the dacoits the girl would be killed and therefore the FIR should be lodged against unknown persons. Even then the police filed the FIR after the passing of one and half months.

In the meantime the gang leader of the dacoits, Budho Sarki, via a telephone call demanded a ransom of Rs. 400,000. After a long negotiation for her safe release he instructed the family to pay the money to Karim Bukhsh alias Borro Sarki. The next day the father paid the amount to Karim Baksh at his house and was told that their girl would be released within three days. The family was told not to tell the police so that the girl would not be harmed.

However, one year after the incident the alleged dacoits told him that his daughter had fallen ill and died in April 2008.

After the change in government in 2008 a new SHO, Mr. Abdul Wahid Buriro, was appointed who helped the father of the victim and lodged an FIR against the main accused persons. The new SHO came very close to getting the girl released after arresting two of the main accused, Qadiro alais Qadir Bukhsh and Karim Bakhsh alias Boro, but by the intervention of the tribal chief and his younger brother, Dr. Sohrab Sarki, former provincial minister in General Musharraf's cabinet, the SHO was suddenly transferred. Around the same time it was also announced that gang leader of the dacoits, Budho Dharyal, who took the ransom money, had been killed in police encounter.
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read more: http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-130-2011

abduction     child rights     disappearances     miscarriage of justice     RULE OF LAW