Teenagers in hot water for kidnapping friend

17-year-old boy recovered by police within 24 hours of kidnapping and his three kidnappers arrested.

ISLAMABAD:

A 17-year-old boy was recovered by police on Thursday, within 24 hours of his kidnapping. His three kidnappers were also caught.

Police said that Azraya, a resident of F-10/2, lodged a complaint with the Shalimar police station that his son Xavrez Ayaz, a student of A-levels, was missing since Wednesday evening, when he went for tuition.

The calls to his cellphone were cancelled at first, but then a stranger picked up the phone to confirm that Ayaz had been kidnapped.

“Later, the kidnapper called and demanded Rs5 million,” Azraya told the police. They threatened to kill the boy if the police were contacted. They did not know that the police had already been contacted.

Within an hour of the last call made to Ayaz’s father, the police were able to track their location through the phone. The kidnappers, Muslim Raza, Ali Zain and Asad Ali, were taken by surprise when police officials broke into their hideout in Bhara Kahu.

“They were waiting to make a second call to Ayaz’s father to tell him the place for delivering the ransom amount,” said a police official.

Later, during investigations, they told the police that Ayaz was their former class fellow and a friend. They had fought over a petty issue some time back. However, the three boys called Ayaz on Wednesday asking him for reconciliation and invited him for a meeting, where they overpowered him and took to a pre-selected place in Bhara Kahu.

They told the police that they thought Ayaz’s father was wealthy who could easily pay the ransom amount. They assumed he would not inform the police fearing for the safety of his son — therefore they did not feel the need to keep a weapon with them.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18^th, 2011.