Kudos to police

It has boosted public confidence in law enforcers and should keep criminal elements away from their ugly activities. The police, Citizen-Police Liaison Committee and intelligence agencies through their collective efforts have arrested two suspects allegedly involved in last year’s two prominent cases of kidnapping for ransom. Two girls — Bisma and Dua Mangi-- were kidnapped in Karachi’s upscale Defence Housing Authority within the span of a few months. Two such incidents within a short interval shocked not only residents of Defence locality but of the whole Karachi. The kidnappers were travelling in cars.

Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon informed journalists on Wednesday that the police had arrested two of the kidnappers named Muzaffar alias Moozi and Zohaib Qureshi and recovered arms from them. Their three accomplices identified as Agha Mansoor, Shakeel, and Kamran are still on the run. The arrested suspects have confessed to their involvement in the two girls’ kidnappings, and said the absconding suspect Agha Mansoor had planned the abductions. The five members of the gang had past criminal record as they had been involved in hijacking of vehicles in Karachi. According to the police official, Agha Mansoor was formerly in the police serving as an officer and had been dismissed from service for his criminal activities. He is a hardened criminal and has also been involved in other kidnapping-for-ransom incidents in the provincial capital. The gang had rented an apartment in Clifton block-2 a year ago where they kept both the girls hostage before setting them free after receiving the ransom money.

In the past, several cases of cops having been involved in criminal activities had been reported, but it is perhaps the first instance of a police officer’s involvement in criminal activities. The government in order to secure the police force against intrusion of anti-social elements should put in place a fool-proof screening mechanism. There is also the need to weed out the black sheep from law-enforcing agencies.

Bisma was kidnapped outside her home by armed men travelling in a car on May 12, 219. Dua was abducted by men carrying firearms on Nov 30, 2019. It’s reassuring that the police have promised to provide security to both the girls.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 20^th, 2020.

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