Student abducted for ransom rescued
A medical college final year student, who was abducted from Satiana Road for a ransom of Rs20 million, was rescued by police 16 hours after her abduction.
Reportedly, the police rounded up the kidnapper who then led a team to the victim. A case of kidnapping for ransom was registered in the Madina Town Police Station against the accused.
SSP Operation Syed Ali Raza Bukhari and SP Madina Town Arsalan Shahzeb revealed the details in a press conference held at the police complex on Wednesday.
They said the girl, who is a resident of Abdullah Garden Faisalabad went to a jewellery shop on Satiana Road on July 27 at around 7pm for Eid shopping.
After shopping, the final year MBBS student of a medical college in Karachi unlocked her car to drive back home. As soon as she unlocked the car, an armed man hopped on to the back seat and asked her to drive towards Sargodha Road.
According to the victim, the accused threatened her and told her to stop on Sargodha Road bypass. He tied her hands and coerced her to sit on the front seat while he took over the steering wheel and drove the car to Chiniot.
To demand ransom, the abductor identified as Abrar, son of Islam, called the girl's uncle Muhammad Usman at around 10pm from her phone.
He demanded a ransom of Rs20 million, the parents of the abducted girl told the Madina Town police.
Subsequently, Madina Town Station House Officer (SHO) Mohsin Munir brought the matter to the notice of senior officers on which CPO Sohail Chaudhry formed teams headed by SSP Operation Syed Ali Raza Bukhari to nab the kidnapper.
The team tracked the location of the abducted girl through latest technology and discovered that he was present in Chiniot.
The accused was contacted through the uncle of the victim and a deal of Rs15 million ransom was finalised.
Abrar was lured to collect money from Chiniot Road in an area that had been cordoned off by police officials. Police said the accused came to collect the money on a motorcycle and when the police moved to arrest him, he tried to flee from the scene. However, he was chased and arrested.
Upon information gained from the kidnapper, the abducted girl was rescued from a house in Bhavana area.
A pistol, the victim's car and mobile phone were recovered from the possession of the accused.
Sources within police said the victim was tied to a bed and her mouth was covered with a mask and taped in a way that it could have led to suffocation.
Madina Town SP Arsalan Shahzeb told The Express Tribune that the 28-year-old kidnapper had no accomplices and had arrived in Faisalabad on a motorcycle. The rescued medical student thanked the police for saving her life.
“I was terrified and had kept doing what he said,” she said.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 30th, 2020.