Attempt to kidnap newsman foiled
THATTA- A man, Riaz Shirazi, and his armed accomplices reportedly tried to kidnap a reporter, Mehboob Ali Brohi, here on December 14, 2002.
Mr Mehboob, who works for a Sindhi newspaper, Shaam, was headed towards his village along with a friend, Nazir Jakhro, when two cars intercepted them in front of the Shahjehan Mosque.
Riaz remained seated in his Pajero while his men disembarked from both the vehicles and reportedly started beating the reporter while dragging him towards one of the vehicles. The reporter tried to resist.
Then Riaz allegedly stepped out of his vehicle and started shoving the journalist with the warning that if he did not stop filing stories against the Shirazis he would be dealt with.
On hearing Mehboob’s shouts for help, many people came running to his aid and were able to rescue him. Later, many correspondents belonging to various newspapers went to the police station to lodge a First Information Report (FIR). However, the police refused to comply.
In protest, the journalists then staged a sit-in in front of the police station.
Within half-an-hour the District Superintendent Police (DSP), headquarters, and the TPO arrived at the police station and requested the journalists to disperse with the assurance that an FIR would be registered after consulting senior officials.
The journalists started dispersing while raising slogans against the police and the “influential people”.
On December 15, 2002 morning, the journalists held an urgent meeting in which they decided to hold a protest on a larger scale if the FIR had not been registered by Monday morning. This correspondent tried to contact the DPO and the district Nazim several times to seek their version of the story but in vain.
Source: Dawn
Date:12/16/2002
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