The parents of Priya Kumari, who had gone missing at the age of seven years in Sukkur on August 19, 2021, held a sit-in outside the Sindh Chief Minister House on 20 July, following which a government delegation met the girl’s family and assured them of full cooperation.
The delegation comprised Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, and Pakistan Peoples Party MPAs Mukesh Kumar Chawla, Lal Chand Ukrani, and Sham Sunder Advani. Civil society representatives Sheema Kermani, Fahmida Riaz, and Liaquat Jalbani among others were also present on the occasion.
Lanjar said the Sindh police are hopeful about the case, adding that evidence suggesting the girl is alive has been found. He made the assurance that the investigation team would succeed. DIG Javed Jaskani briefed the parents about the joint investigation team’s (JIT) progress in the case.
The home minister said that the best team of the Sindh police has been formed to recover Priya. The investigation team has collected evidence of her being alive after three years, and has come close to resolving the case, he added.
“I have faith in the Sindh police. They will rescue Priya Kumari,” he stressed. He also announced a reward of Rs10 million for the police team that would rescue the girl.
“If the parents want a judicial commission or another JIT formed, or any other officer assigned to the case, we are ready to do that too. We assure you that this same team will bring Priya Kumari back safely.”
Earlier, a protest was held at Teen Talwar for the girl’s recovery. The protest started at around 10:30 pm on Friday and lasted until about 1:30 am on Saturday. The protesters dispersed after the home minister and the Karachi police chief held talks with them to assure them of recovering the girl. The demonstrators had held banners and placards with slogans demanding the girl’s recovery. They said that on the 10th Muharram three years ago, Priya had gone missing from a water stall. They lamented that there had been no information about her since that day. They demanded that the higher authorities ensure her immediate recovery. They said they would continue their peaceful protest until the child is recovered.
A heavy contingent of the South Zone police had arrived at the scene. Allegedly, police beat up a private TV channel’s reporter and cameraman, and also baton-charged the protesters and detained some of them. Upon hearing reports of police violence against protesters and media representatives, Lanjar ordered the South Zone police chief to conduct an inquiry. He said that any officers involved in the violence would face departmental action. He assured journalists that no injustice against them would be tolerated.
Published in News Daily on 21 July 2024.