Five alleged kidnappers killed by police

CIA, CPLC also rescue man kidnapped on February 28.

KARACHI: The Crime Investigation Agency (CIA), in collaboration with the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), killed five suspected kidnappers and safely rescued a kidnapped person.

The encounter took place on Thursday when the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) of the CIA conducted a raid at the hideout of the suspected kidnappers in Gulshan-e-Bilal, Surjani Town. Special Investigation Unit chief SP Farooq Awan, who also has an additional charge of the AVCC, told the media that the kidnappers resorted to indiscriminate fire at the police and they were killed when the police retaliated.

"The good news is that we have recovered a kidnapped person safely from the captivity of the kidnappers," explained SP Awan. The recovered person, Muhammad Zahid Khan, has a sanitation business in Shadman Town and was kidnapped on February 28 this year from his shop. "Initially the kidnappers demanded Rs2 million ransom money from the family," said the SIU chief. The bodies of the deceased suspects were shifted to the Edhi morgue in Sohrab Goth after medico-legal formalities were completed at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.



The suspects were later identified as gang leader Mazharuddin, Tanvir, Fahim, Ain Ali and Rasheed. SP Awan added that the suspects were involved in at least four 'short-term' kidnappings for ransom, including an incident within the last three to four months. SP Awan said that 2016 began with a new trend of short-term kidnapping for ransom cases, adding that each time the kidnappers insisted the families send a female family member to hand over the ransom money. Pistols and bullets were recovered.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2016.