MIRPURKHAS, June 19: Twenty-seven peasants, including women and children, were released under court orders from a private jail in Mitho Rajar village of Umerkot district, 60 kilometres from here on Wednesday.

The district and sessions judge of Umerkot Khan Ubaidullah Khan ordered SHO of Pithoro police station to conduct raid on the village to release detainees after Satram Rahim Bheel of HRCP submitted an application to court a day ago, accusing landlord Faqir Sunghar Rajar of keeping six families of Bheel community in illegal captivity for a year.

He said in the application that the detainees were working as bonded labourers on his fields and they were not allowed not move freely.

The released detainees, including Ms Haliman, Photo Mal, Girdhari Lal, Ms Lakhi, Doulat Ram, Paromal, Kanji, Ms Chandi, Ms Najo and others, were produced before the judge for recording statements.

Ms Halima, Ms Chandi, Ms Najo and Ms Lakhi alleged in their statements that the landlord and his men used to subject them to gang-rape during their illegal confinement.

The judge asked the victimised women to submit applications to the court for getting FIRs registered against the accused, over gang-rape charges.

SUSPENSION: The PML-Q backed nazim of Doulatpur UC, A.D. Lakho, and the PML-F backed nazim of Balochabad UC, Imtiaz Ali Panhwar, have condemned the decision of suspending of Balochabad UC secretary Allah Bux Mangrio, who was also holding additional charge of secretary of Old Mirpur UC, and a clerk working as secretary of Doulatpur UC, Mohammad Ashraf Leghari, by the Sindh local government department.