Kidnappings: Four-year-old found dead near river bank

Bodies of child’s father and sister had been found earlier in Charsadda.

NOWSHERA/ PESHAWAR:

A four-year-old boy, who was kidnapped along with three other people of his family in December last year, was found dead on the bank of River Kabul in Pabbi on Thursday.

Pabbi SHO Shakeel Khan said a police van was patrolling nearby when a man informed them that a boy was lying dead near the river bank. Police reached the area and took the body to the police station. The body was then shifted to Civil Hospital Pabbi for autopsy.

Investigations revealed that a man identified as Abdur Rauf had gone for a picnic with his three children on December 13, 2012 in Daudzai from where they went missing. The same day, their car was found abandoned in the jurisdiction of Daudzai police station and an FIR was lodged.

According to the SHO, bodies of Rauf and his seven-year-old daughter Zainab were found earlier in Prang, Charsadda. Another child Afshan, whose age could not be confirmed, is still missing.

The SHO speculated that the family might have been kidnapped for ransom.

Two men kidnapped

Two friends Haider Ali and Muhammad Nasir were kidnapped from Urmar village on Wednesday and found dead eight hours later in a deserted area.



Nasir’s father Mir Aslam said his son and Ali had gone to a mosque to offer Zuhr prayers from where they were abducted. Aslam alleged that Akhtar Zaman and Afsar Zaman kidnapped the boys, adding that he was informed about the death of his son around 3am. Police said the suspects had a family feud with the deceased.

Separately in Badhaber, militants released three of five people who had allegedly been kidnapped by Lashkar-e –Islam militants in Mera Balarzai on Tuesday night. More than 24 militants had invaded Lobia Gul’s house and abducted three members of his family as well as two guests.

Irfan, Hazrat Hussain and Noor Hussain were released in Akka Khel area of Khyber Agency. Two others, Lobia Gul and Ibad Khan are still in their custody.

Residents said the freed men were reluctant to share any details and were not agreeing to file an FIR.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2013.