Fake marriage proposal leads to abduction from Islamabad

A labourer who was reported missing in the limits of Shalimar police station, in the federal capital, fell into the hands of bandits of the Kacha (riverine) area.

He was misled and trapped by an unknown woman who tricked him by pretending to want to marry him. The abductors demanded a ransom of Rs20 million and two sets of iPhones from his son in exchange for his release.

According to police sources, Afaq Ahmad, a resident of Mira Beri, lodged a report with the police that on August 21, his father Amjad Mehmood left his home and had not returned yet. There was a call on his brother's phone from his father's number and the caller said that his father was with them in the Kacha area. They threatened him, saying that if he wanted his father to be spared, he should arrange Rs20 million and two iPhone mobile sets. They also forwarded a video of his father bound in chains to him through WhatsApp to blackmail him.

A senior officer of the Federal Police told Express that the abductee was a poor labourer. His son had told the police that his mother had died some time ago and since then his father had expressed his wish to remarry many times.

The labourer's son had assured him that as there was very high inflation, they would first save up and then get him married. However, on August 21, the victim took matters to his end and left home to meet an unknown woman who had initiated talks of marriage with him. After which, he did not return and his abductors on the phone told them that he had reached the dacoits of Kacha.

The senior officer of the federal police further said that all the mobile phone records of the abductee have been obtained. The investigation so far has revealed that the woman who trapped him was associated with the Kacha area dacoits. On an inquiry by The Express Tribune, he said that not only is the kidnapped labourer out of Islamabad district, but he has reached another province, therefore, all available resources are being used for his recovery.