Newlywed recovered, sent to women’s shelter

Complainant accuses police of taking bribes to favour kidnappers.


Rameez Khan November 14, 2010

LAHORE: A newly wed woman who was reported kidnapped has been recovered by police and sent to a women’s shelter. Razia, the mother-in-law of Fatima Hafiz, accused the Ghalib Market investigation wing of taking bribes from the kidnappers.

She also said that her daughter Sonia, 9, who had been reported kidnapped in the same incident, was still missing but police refused to accept her story.

Police officials did not respond directly to the accusation, but indicated through their decision to send Fatima to a women’s shelter that they do not believe the complainant entirely.

Razia says that the police recovered her daughter-in-law from the kidnappers in Vehari on Friday but refused to let her meet her.

She says the kidnappers were relatives of a man named Hashim who was formerly engaged to Fatima and who was angry that she had married Razia’s son Shehzad.

Razia says she was threatened by Sub Inspector Zafar Ali, an investigation officer, and physically thrown out of Ghalib Market police station on Friday. “They threatened to implicate me in false cases,” she said.

She said that she had seen Fatima in the police station but the police would not let them speak.

She said Fatima had bruises on her neck. She accused the police of torturing Fatima in order to extract a false statement from her about the case.

Inspector Mian Muhamad Aslam, who is in charge of the investigation wing, said that getting information from the person who had been kidnapped was a part of such investigations. He refused to comment further.

Razia lodged a complaint regarding the kidnapping with police on November 11. She said the police had arrested two accused. She said she had tried to complain about the Ghalib Market police to Deputy Superintendent Asad Muzafar, but could not gain access to him.

Ghalib Market Police registered the FIR under Sections 363 and 380 of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of Razia.

She alleged in the FIR that Naziran Bibi, her husband Muhammad Islam, Hashim Ali, Ijaz Ahmed and two unidentified accomplices kidnapped Sonia and her new daughter-in-law Fatima Hafiz at gun point.

She said they also took Rs11,000 in cash, and seven tolas of gold jewellery with them.

Riaz, Sonia’s father, said the police had only agreed to register the FIR after he bribed them with Rs6,000.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th, 2010.

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