Recovered: ‘Bengali Samosawala’ recovered after ten days

Allah Ditta was being kept in Shorkot, nephew charged with kidnapping.

ISLAMABAD:

Ten days after he was kidnapped, the owner of the famous Bengali Samosa Shop in F-6/1 was recovered by the city police here on Tuesday.

Allah Ditta, who owns the shop in Farooqia Market in F-6/1, was kidnapped on October 6 when he was on his way home along with his nephew Afzal and driver Abbas in a van.

Khairun Nisa, his wife, a resident of Farash Town, lodged a complaint with Shehzad Town police about her husband went missing. She feared that Ditta was kidnapped. This was confirmed when Nisa received a phone call from the kidnappers asking her to pay Rs5 million in ransom for the release of her husband.

Initial investigations by the police suggested that some unknown gunmen had intercepted Ditta’s van. They kidnapped him while the other two passengers, including his nephew, were left untouched.

Police treated Ditta’s nephew and driver as suspects. After obtaining initial evidence, police arrested the two and interrogated them.

They first maintained innocence and told the police that they had not seen the faces of the gunmen. Later, Afzal confessed of staging the kidnapping with the help of his friends.

He told the police that his friends Ramzan, Asad and Zafar had picked Ditta from the vehicle. They blindfolded Ditta and took him to Shorkot where he was chained. Two additional men were deputed to watch him, Afzal said.

Police arrested Afzal’s three accomplices and interrogated them. They guided the police to the place in Shorkot where Ditta was being held. Police raided the house and recovered Ditta alive. His two guards gave up without putting up any resistance, police said.

Police registered a kidnapping case against the suspects including Afzal.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2011.