Abducted girl found outside Bahawalpur Zoo

LAHORE:

Three days after being kidnapped on the day of Eidul Azha, a two-year-old girl who was kidnapped from Al-Noor Garden of Lodhran, was found abandoned outside Bahawalpur Zoo by unidentified abductors who fled the scene.

Bahawalpur’s Kotwali police took the child from the zoo to the police station and shared her footage in various groups to identify her family.

The child was soon identified as Horeen, the girl who had been abducted from a private residential colony in Lodhran.

Upon identification, Lodhran DPO Kamran Mumtaz, along with the child’s relatives, set off for Bahawalpur to bring her home.

A two-year-old girl was abducted from her home in Lodhran on the morning of Eid.

A case has been registered at the City Police Station Lodhran based on a complaint from her uncle.

The police shared the FIR and details of the incident 33 hours after it occurred.

Hafiz Umair, a resident of Al Noor Garden, reported that he was at home at 6am on June 17 when armed men in a vehicle and on a motorcycle forced their way in and abducted two-year-old Horeen.

The family tried to raise an alarm, but the abductors threatened them and escaped with the child.

A video of the incident, which went viral on social media, shows an unidentified masked man entering the house, taking the girl, and fleeing in a car.

The delay in sharing details and the abduction in a posh colony have raised concerns about security arrangements.

Sources indicate that authorities are conducting a camera-to-camera check of the vehicle used in the abduction to help trace the suspects.

This incident is the second major kidnapping for ransom in Lodhran since 2008-2009, when a four-year-old boy was abducted and later rescued by then SHO Tahir Ejaz.

Following the current incident, District Police Officer (DPO) Kamran Mumtaz visited the scene and stated that the investigation is being aided by modern technology and human intelligence.

He assured that the culprits would soon be apprehended and brought to justice.

Despite a special Eid security plan deploying 750 personnel and officers across 240 mosques and tightening security at seven entry and exit points, the abductors managed to enter the house of former Punjab Police sub-inspector Chaudhry Sarwar and kidnap his granddaughter.

Public and social circles are demanding that Chief Minister Punjab and IG Punjab Police ensure the swift recovery of the girl. Notably, there is a contradiction between the FIR and the video of the incident.

The suspects had demanded a ransom of Rs60 million for the release of Hoorain, said the district police officer.

The suspects were tracked down using the number from which the ransom call was made, DPO reports.

Teams are pursuing the suspects and they will be arrested tonight. Nearly ten teams and 350 CCTV cameras were utilised to reach the suspects.