Tootsie attack: Gang members pretending to be women arrested by police

Investigation shows that the male suspects posing as women received Rs20,000 for abducting men.

SUKKUR:

Three men, who pretended to be women on the phone in order to kidnap men, were arrested in a raid by the Ghotki police on Wednesday.

The authorities claim that matters had become quite suspicious as they had started to receive complaints about kidnappings linked to someone with a feminine voice. This led Ghotki SSP Pir Mohammad Shah to trace phone numbers linked to the abductions. The SSP claims that the authorities found out that Ayaz Jatt and Afzal Jatt who were based in Faisalabad were in constant contact with the alleged kidnapers. He added that both men were on their way to Ubauro when the police intercepted their passenger coach.

“ASI Gamno Shar and Raunti SHO Abdullah Awan took both of them into custody near the Ubauro bus stand,” he said. “While Ayaz and Afzal were being taken into custody, three members of the kidnapping gang Amjad Malik, Ayaz Malik and Ghulam Mohammad Malik arrived on motorcycles and asked the policemen to accompany them to meet the girls who were waiting for Ayaz and Afzal.”

The SSP said that the ASI and SHO went with the motorcyclists while other policemen followed them in another car. The police and abductors exchanged a series of gunshots, which helped the authorities arrest the suspects within minutes.  A case was registered against the three men at the Raunti police station and an investigation is being carried out. The SSP said that initial investigation showed that the suspects received Rs20,000 for handing over abducted men to the gang leader who then demanded a huge ransom for their release.

The authorities added that this particular gang has been operating in the katcha area of Ghotki for a few years with Qabil Shar as their gang leader. They said that members of the gang pretended to be women while talking to men and would invite them to Ubauro for a visit. So far 100 men have been abducted by this gang.



Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2011.