Children abduction reports are just rumors, claims DIG Karachi

Investigation reveals eight-month-old Faiza’s ‘kidnapping’ was arranged by her own mother

KARACHI: As panic spreads among parents in the city due to reports of kidnapping of minor children, police officials have termed these reports rumors.

Reassuring parents, District South Deputy Inspector-General Javed Alam Odho said that no case of child kidnapping from schools has taken place. He added that there are various reasons behind the disappearance of children, with most leaving homes themselves. Odho stressed the media to report responsibly on such issues.



He was addressing a press conference at his office on Friday, which was held to disclose the details of a mysterious abduction incident of an eight-month-old girl, Faiza.

Faiza's 'kidnapping' was arranged by her own mother at Karachi's Napier Road area, said Odho. The minor girl was earlier reported to have allegedly been snatched from her mother who was standing outside her apartment building near the Napier police station on September 12.

The minor's mother had told the police that a veiled woman snatched her daughter from her hand and made a run for it. She added that she cried for help but the woman managed to escape with her daughter. A case was later registered by the Napier police and an investigation launched into the incident.

However, the case took a strange turn on Friday after the investigators claimed Faiza's mother was involved in the 'so-called' kidnapping.

Police investigators said that there were glaring differences in the mother's statements which made the matter more suspicious. Police said Faiza's mother made 'bizarre' claims that her child was taken away by jinns, which was also highlighted in the media.

Following the mother's suspicious claims, the police started investigating the case from different angles.

DIG Odho said that the investigation wing of the Napier police, in collaboration with the Citizens Police Liaison Committee, used technical assistance to trace the a suspect.



A suspect, Imran, was finally traced and arrested during a raid conducted in Surjani Town. The investigators also safely recovered the toddler from his custody.

According to Investigation Officer Zahid Hussain, the toddler's mother had a friendship with Imran and had handed Faiza over to him herself, later terming it a kidnapping.

Hussain added that a case would be registered against the girl's mother and she would also be arrested.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 29^th, 2018.