UMERKOT: Members of the Hindu community in Samaro town took out a rally on Saturday after police said that one of the two girls allegedly kidnapped about a week ago had actually left her home to contract a freewill marriage with a Muslim man, Nawaz Halepoto.

Outraged over the police claim, men and women belonging to the Kolhi community took to the streets of Samaro and raised slogans against the local police for not taking action against the 10 suspects booked in the alleged kidnapping case.

Shidan Kolhi, the father of Sonari Kolhi, told the media that he had lodged an FIR against Mohsin Halepoto, a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf candidate who was defeated in the recent local government election in the town, Nawaz Halephoto and eight other members of the Halephoto community, who were believed to have kidnapped the woman and a 13-year-old girl, Samjhoo Kolhi. He said the FIR was lodged with the Bodar Farm police station against “10 armed kidnappers”.

He said the police did not act to recover the kidnapped victims during the whole week and now came up with the claim that his daughter had contracted a freewill marriage.

Carrying banners and placards inscribed with demands for the victims’ safe recovery, the Kolhi protesters appealed to the authorities concerned to provide protection to the Hindu community against what they described as “kidnapping and forced conversion of their women”.

They said that leaders like Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Imran Khan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and even Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif used to express solidarity with members of the Hindu community by joining in Diwali celebrations but they never tried to address this particular issue relating to the fundamental and constitutional rights of citizens belonging to the minority communities.

Earlier, an official at the Bodar Farm police station, Pir Bukhsh told Dawn that according to police investigation, Sonari Kohli left her home on her own and embraced Islam on the hand of Pir Ayub Jan Sarhandi in the Gulistan-i-Khalil locality of Samaro town to contract a freewill marriage with Nawaz Halepoto.

She has adopted Zareena as her new name, he added.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2016