Orthopaedic surgeon kidnapped by extortionists

HYDERABAD: A wellknown orthopaedic surgeon from Hyderabad was kidnapped allegedly by extortionists early Tuesday and the authorities have yet to locate him.

Dr Rais Pervez Khan, chief executive of the Bone Care and Trauma Centre in Hirabad, was kidnapped at 2 am on Tuesday when he left work to go home. An eyewitness said that a few armed men arrived in a golden car and took the doctor away.

The eyewitness informed the hospital about the kidnapping after which a security guard and a few staff members tried to run after the car but it sped away. The guard resorted to aerial firing but the kidnappers managed to escape.

After the kidnapping, SPO and SHO Market police, various political figures and hospital employees gathered at the hospital. SHO Liaquat Jaskani told Express News that the suspects arrived in a car and kidnapped him in a very short time.

The hospital administration believed that a group of extortionists were behind the kidnapping. A resident of a goth near Kali Mori came to the hospital Monday night and demanded extortion from Dr Khan. When the doctor refused, he threatened him with dire consequences and the kidnapping took place the same night, an official said, believing that there was a connection.

The doctor’s father, Dr Rais Mushtaq Khan, registered a kidnapping-for-ransom case against four unidentified men with the Market police.

Residents and the hospital staff started protesting early Tuesday and wore black armbands to condemn the kidnapping. They burnt tyres and blocked Jail Road. Traffic was suspended as the protesters put up barriers. Shopkeepers also decided to close down in protest.

The protesters later marched to the press club and organised a rally. They were holding placards and shouting demands for the doctor’s recovery.

Dr Khan’s father and Dr Lala Jaffar, who were present at the press club, said that this is the second kidnapping case of a doctor in the city. They demanded the police find Dr Khan.

Later, a token hunger strike was also observed by the officials of Awami Tehreek and Sindhiani Tehreek.

According to APP news agency, officials in the hospital said that the kidnappers were demanding ransom worth Rs50 million for Dr Khan’s release.

PPI news agency said that the doctor belonged to Nawabshah. It added that a child specialist, Dr Aslam, was also kidnapped last month. He was recovered after two weeks. While the police claimed that they found the doctor after an encounter with the kidnappers in Kotri, a news item reported that Dr Aslam’s family paid ransom worth Rs5 million for his release.

Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah directed the administration and law enforcement agencies, including RPO Sukkur, to recover Dr Khan as soon as possible, said APP news agency.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 21^st, 2010.