The Haripur Police while successfully recovering a child, who had been abducted from Sikanderpur over a month ago, arrested four suspects including the main accused involved in the heinous crime of kidnapping for ransom.
Sources said the suspects had kept the victim at different locations in Taxila, Pindi, Lahore, and Mianwali. The arrested suspects also include alleged facilitators of the primary suspect Raja Ata Muhammad, who used a modern international application rather than a mobile phone while communicating with the victim’s family, they added.
Addressing a press conference at the city police station, DPO Haripur Muhammad Umar Khan, who was flanked by SP Investigation Muhammad Sulaiman Khan, said that the main suspect of the gang, involved in kidnapping for ransom, was arrested with the help of modern technology.
Delving into the details of the incident, the DPO said four suspects broke into the house and abducted child Anas Shahzad. The main accused, through another suspect namely Sidratullah, hired the services of other gang members for the kidnappings.
The DPO further informed that on 21.01.2023 an incident of harassing a family at gunpoint, snatching of mobile phones and kidnapping of a child occurred in the Aminabad area within the limits of Police Station City Chowki TIP.
At this, on the report of the complainant, a case was registered against Raja Atta Muhammad and other suspects under sections 365, 452, 109 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code in the City Police Station.
As soon as the incident was reported, blockades were put in place at various places across the district, he said and added that the primary accused was also wanted in another case of murder and attempted murder.
The DPO said the SP Investigation formed a team to arrest the suspects and recover the hostage which launched the investigation on a modern scientific and technical basis to arrest the suspects and carried out operations in different districts of Punjab.
Later, the abducted child was recovered and reunited with his family. Subsequently, a series of operations for the arrest of the suspects were going on that Bilal son of Abdul Salam, a co-accused, was arrested.
On 26.02.2023, acting on a tipoff, the police nabbed the main accused and recovered a pistol [weapon of murder] and a stolen mobile phone from his possession.
He added that Sidratullah alias Saeedullah, the alleged facilitator, was arrested from Chechian Interchange from whose possession a pistol was recovered.
The DPO said that the police officers have been instructed to act on the report received by the complainant within 10 days and submit an interim report. “If this does not happen, action will be taken against the SHO and Head Moharrar of the police station concerned,” he warned.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 2nd, 2023.
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