Police rescue friends held hostage in kutcha areas

Gujar Khan residents thought they were getting bargain car deal

RAWALPINDI/LAHORE:

A joint operation of the Sindh and Punjab police resulted in the rescue of two Gujar Khan residents, who had been held hostage for a month by bandits in the riverine area on the border of the two provinces.

A police spokesperson said that Hafiz Ehsan and Nazak Ali were lured by an advertisement of what they thought was a ‘bargain deal’ on a car. Instead, they were taken hostage by bandits who demanded Rs20 million from their families for their safe return. The families contacted the Gujar Khan police. The investigation included identifying the area where the captives were held based on geofencing done from data of ransom calls.

After that, a raiding party of police of the two provinces was formed. They carried out a joint operation in the kutcha (riverine) area and recovered the victims.

The spokesperson said the decision of the victims’ families to notify the police helped them trace their whereabouts. The kutcha areas along the Indus River are notorious for bandits who escape to the inaccessible terrain of the marshland after committing crimes.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 15^th, 2023.