Homecoming: Three bankers on their way home after month-long ordeal
The hostages were found tied up in a jungle in Sukkur, and their three kidnappers arrested.
KARACHI:
The two State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) directors and a third employee who went missing from Bin Qasim Town were recovered from Sukkur on Saturday.
It took a joint effort by Karachi’s Anti-Violent Crime Unit (AVCU), the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee, the Sukkur police, the Rangers and spy agencies to track the three men to the Shah Belo forest in Sukkur.
According to AVCU chief SSP Farooq Awan, the kidnappers demanded Rs30 million each in ransom. They contacted the families for the ransom twice or thrice and negotiations were under way.
They arrested three kidnappers Mehboob Chandio, Zameer Chandio and Rasheed Narejo during the operation. Awan said that they have been involved in many cases in Karachi and upper Sindh. The SSP explained the recent increase in kidnappings was because most of the criminals from upper Sindh moved to Karachi after the floods.
The three bankers, SBP additional director Najamus Saqib, SBP marketing manager Nadeem Bhurgari, and a senior vice president of a private bank, Asif Shahzad, were kidnapped on May 30 from Steel Town. They were on their way back from dinner at the Arabian Sea Country Club when they were abducted.
Their white Toyota Camry was later found in the bushes near the Pakistan Steel Mill, while their mobile phones were switched off. The hostages were kept in Karachi while the kidnappers contacted their associates to help them shift the men to upper Sindh. They did not treat the hostages well either. The men were kept in the forest, with the kidnappers standing guard. “They were treated like animals,” said the SSP. “They would tie them up and make them walk around the forest.”
Saqib’s brother, Asif, filed an FIR, No. 112/11 under Section 365/34, at the Bin Qasim police station and the case was later transferred to the AVCU.
As it turns out, the accused men did not mean to kidnap the bankers. “In reality, they stopped them with the intention of a mugging,” explained Awan. “When they saw their bank business cards, they realised they were bankers and decided to kidnap them.”
There are roughly eight people in the group and five are still at large. SSP Awan said that the kidnappers were very careful during the negotiations. They only contacted Saqib’s family and made sure they could not be traced through phone calls. “The kidnappers were very sharp, they switched off the hostages’ phones and did not call too often during the negotiations. They also changed their location, each time they called,” said Awan. “We only got to them through our intelligence reports.”
“God helped us recover them safe and sound,” said Awan. “We reached the jungle and spent two days searching fruitlessly until finally we were successful.”
He said that all the three suspects are from Khairpur. Zameer and Mehboob lived in Karachi at Sindhi Goth while Narejo was only in the city for the kidnapping.
He explained that the two men who live in the city used to steal trailers and have been involved in many cases while Narejo is a wanted criminal in Khairpur and had Rs500,000 as head money. He has been implicated in kidnapping and murder cases. Shahzad told The Express Tribune about his ordeal. “We thought they would let us go after taking our cash and mobile phones, but they made us walk for an hour and then they pushed us into cars and drove us to some undisclosed place.”
The kidnappers kept them in Karachi for three days, drugged them, and then shifted them. They were mostly kept in the forest but never stayed in one place for long and were kept alive on dough and crushed onions. Bhurgari said that they never even tried to escape because they didn’t know where they were. However, he thanked the law enforcers for recovering them safely.
Saqib, looking content and refreshed after a square meal and a trip to the barber, recounted how their lives had been a living hell since May 30. “I just don’t want to recall the memories,” he said in a choked voice. He has been too overcome with emotion to even speak to his children. “I talked to my wife only, but cannot muster the courage to talk to my children.”
with additional reporting by Sarfaraz Memon
Published in The Express Tribune, July 3rd, 2011.
The two State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) directors and a third employee who went missing from Bin Qasim Town were recovered from Sukkur on Saturday.
It took a joint effort by Karachi’s Anti-Violent Crime Unit (AVCU), the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee, the Sukkur police, the Rangers and spy agencies to track the three men to the Shah Belo forest in Sukkur.
According to AVCU chief SSP Farooq Awan, the kidnappers demanded Rs30 million each in ransom. They contacted the families for the ransom twice or thrice and negotiations were under way.
They arrested three kidnappers Mehboob Chandio, Zameer Chandio and Rasheed Narejo during the operation. Awan said that they have been involved in many cases in Karachi and upper Sindh. The SSP explained the recent increase in kidnappings was because most of the criminals from upper Sindh moved to Karachi after the floods.
The three bankers, SBP additional director Najamus Saqib, SBP marketing manager Nadeem Bhurgari, and a senior vice president of a private bank, Asif Shahzad, were kidnapped on May 30 from Steel Town. They were on their way back from dinner at the Arabian Sea Country Club when they were abducted.
Their white Toyota Camry was later found in the bushes near the Pakistan Steel Mill, while their mobile phones were switched off. The hostages were kept in Karachi while the kidnappers contacted their associates to help them shift the men to upper Sindh. They did not treat the hostages well either. The men were kept in the forest, with the kidnappers standing guard. “They were treated like animals,” said the SSP. “They would tie them up and make them walk around the forest.”
Saqib’s brother, Asif, filed an FIR, No. 112/11 under Section 365/34, at the Bin Qasim police station and the case was later transferred to the AVCU.
As it turns out, the accused men did not mean to kidnap the bankers. “In reality, they stopped them with the intention of a mugging,” explained Awan. “When they saw their bank business cards, they realised they were bankers and decided to kidnap them.”
There are roughly eight people in the group and five are still at large. SSP Awan said that the kidnappers were very careful during the negotiations. They only contacted Saqib’s family and made sure they could not be traced through phone calls. “The kidnappers were very sharp, they switched off the hostages’ phones and did not call too often during the negotiations. They also changed their location, each time they called,” said Awan. “We only got to them through our intelligence reports.”
“God helped us recover them safe and sound,” said Awan. “We reached the jungle and spent two days searching fruitlessly until finally we were successful.”
He said that all the three suspects are from Khairpur. Zameer and Mehboob lived in Karachi at Sindhi Goth while Narejo was only in the city for the kidnapping.
He explained that the two men who live in the city used to steal trailers and have been involved in many cases while Narejo is a wanted criminal in Khairpur and had Rs500,000 as head money. He has been implicated in kidnapping and murder cases. Shahzad told The Express Tribune about his ordeal. “We thought they would let us go after taking our cash and mobile phones, but they made us walk for an hour and then they pushed us into cars and drove us to some undisclosed place.”
The kidnappers kept them in Karachi for three days, drugged them, and then shifted them. They were mostly kept in the forest but never stayed in one place for long and were kept alive on dough and crushed onions. Bhurgari said that they never even tried to escape because they didn’t know where they were. However, he thanked the law enforcers for recovering them safely.
Saqib, looking content and refreshed after a square meal and a trip to the barber, recounted how their lives had been a living hell since May 30. “I just don’t want to recall the memories,” he said in a choked voice. He has been too overcome with emotion to even speak to his children. “I talked to my wife only, but cannot muster the courage to talk to my children.”
with additional reporting by Sarfaraz Memon
Published in The Express Tribune, July 3rd, 2011.