SUKKUR (MNN); All passengers abducted from a bus by armed dacoits in the Katcha area near Ubauro in Sindh’s Ghotki district have been safely recovered, Sukkur Range Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Captain (retd) Faisal Abdullah Chachar said late Tuesday.
The abduction took place on Monday night when around 25 armed dacoits intercepted a passenger bus near Sadiqabad, injured the driver and forcibly took several passengers away.
DIG Chachar said he personally reached Ghotki and led a large-scale joint operation involving police contingents from Ghotki, Sukkur, Khairpur and Kashmore districts, along with Rangers personnel. Senior officers including Ghotki SSP Muhammad Anwar Khetran, Sukkur SSP Azhar Khan Mughal and Khairpur SSP Samiullah Soomro also participated in the operation.
“We successfully rescued all the hostages from the dacoits after an exchange of fire,” the DIG said, adding that the victims were recovered without physical harm.
According to police, all entry and exit routes leading to the riverine Katcha area were sealed in time, preventing the criminals from moving the hostages deeper into the region.
Rescued passengers told police that at least two dacoits were injured during the gunfight. Meanwhile, a police constable, Safdar Chachar, sustained injuries to his hand during the operation and was shifted to Rahim Yar Khan Hospital for treatment.
A police spokesperson said the search operation against the dacoits was still underway.
Earlier in the day, Mirpur Mathelo DSP Abdul Qadir Soomro had stated that 14 passengers were initially recovered, adding that one hostage had died of a heart attack while hiding in a sugarcane field and two others were injured. However, senior police officials later clarified that all abducted passengers had been accounted for following the completion of the operation.
The Rahim Yar Khan district police officer said the incident occurred on a link road passing through Guddu in Sindh and not within his district, confirming that Sindh police carried out the recovery.
According to passengers’ accounts shared on social media, the Sadabahar Company bus departed from Sadiqabad for Quetta at around 8pm on Monday. Near the Murid Shaikh area close to the M-5 Motorway, the bus was diverted toward Guddu, where dacoits opened fire, smashed windows and forced passengers off the coach. Female passengers were reportedly not harmed.
Katcha, the riverine belt along the Indus River spanning parts of Sindh and Punjab, has long been notorious for armed gangs involved in kidnappings, extortion, highway robberies and killings.
