ARREST OF A “SAINT”

Southland Times, Issue 21094, 28 May 1930, Page 8

ARREST OF A “SAINT”

The Pir Pagharo Sahib has been charged at Karachi, India, with murder, theft, and housebreaking. He was arrested following the dramatic raid on Rohri Fort; the highwalled stronghold in which the chieftain lives, the raid being the sequel to a mysterious midnight visit paid by the police to the fort in January, in answer, it was reported, to an urgent S.O.S. from the family of the Pir, whose lives were said to be in danger. When the District Superintendent of Police, who was accompanied by eight officers and 105 constables, went to arrest him, the Pir fainted and remained unconscious for 20 minutes. On searching the fortress the police found 40,000 cartridges, two revolvers, 25 rifles, and large quantities of opium and liquor. Most startling of all, however,, was the discovery of a young man of 23, shut up in a large box. His name was Ibrahim Kori, and he had been missing for several months. His mother, Mariam, had filed a petition before the District Magistrate of Sukkur for a search to be made for the recovery of her son. It is now alleged that Mariam was later murdered. 1 The Pir is only 22 years old, but is a most influential Moslem religious leader, with thousands of followers. The title of Pir denotes a religious teacher or saint.