Rahim Yar Khan - In an unprecedented incident, 13 labourers working in mango orchards were abducted for ransom by Kacha area bandits, marking the largest such kidnapping in the district’s history.
The brazen crime, which occurred in the renowned Bhong locality of Tehsil Sadiqabad during the night between Monday and Tuesday, has plunged the region into fear and uncertainty.
According to details, the abduction took place as the workers slept in the orchards. Armed dacoits from the riverine Kacha belt entered Bhong under the cover of darkness, overpowered the unsuspecting labourers, and swiftly fled back toward the Kacha area. Shockingly, neither the local police nor security forces had any knowledge of the bandits’ movement into Bhong or their subsequent escape with the hostages.
The incident was only discovered at dawn when contractor Abdul Karim, son of Moro Khan, arrived at the orchard around 6 a.m. and found all 13 workers missing. The names of the abducted labourers are: Rasheed Ahmed, Nadeem Ahmed, Waseem Ahmed, Saddam Hussain, Gul Hassan, Muhammad Bilal, Muhammad Hanif, Muhammad Nadeem, Muhammad Kashif, Abdul Majid, Muhammad Umair, Shah Mir, and Tanveer Ahmed. Fearing the worst, the contractor immediately notified Bhong Police. However, jurisdictional disputes between Bhong Police Station and Sonmiani Police Station in neighbouring Rajanpur district delayed official action. It was not until late in the day that CCD Police Station Rahim Yar Khan registered an FIR (No. 3/25, Section 365 PPC) against unidentified suspects. As of late Tuesday, police reported no progress in locating the victims or apprehending the kidnappers, and the abductors had yet to contact the families with ransom demands.
Further investigation revealed that five SHOs and their teams are usually assigned to night duty in Bhong to deter such crimes. However, due to special deployments for Muharram security, these officers were absent on the night of the incident—an absence that reportedly allowed the bandits to carry out the mass abduction without resistance.
The simultaneous kidnapping of thirteen workers has sent shockwaves through Bhong and surrounding areas, igniting widespread fear and anxiety among local residents. The audacity of the crime has raised serious questions regarding security preparedness, especially in riverine areas long plagued by bandit activity. Community members are now demanding urgent action from law enforcement agencies, hoping for the safe recovery of the hostages and a return to normalcy in the region.
As the search intensifies, the district remains on edge, anxiously awaiting developments in what has become one of the most alarming incidents in Rahim Yar Khan’s history.
