Safe return: Three-year-old girl rescued, four kidnappers killed

Mahi Suchdev was kidnapped on July 13 after family cook leaked information.

KARACHI: A three-year-old girl was rescued from kidnappers by a joint team of the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) and Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) on Thursday. According to officials, four kidnappers were also killed in the two encounters.

Addressing a joint press conference with AVCC Chief Niaz Ahmed Khosa, CPLC Chief Ahmed Chinoy said that Mahi Suchdev, daughter of Dr Sunil, was kidnapped on July 13. The kidnappers reportedly demanded Rs50 million in the beginning and later, finalised the amount to 0.6 million.



Chinoy told the media that with the help of an intelligence agency of the federal government, the kidnappers were asked to come to Kashif Centre at Shahrae Faisal to collect the ransom. When the police tried to arrest the kidnappers, the latter reportedly opened fire and the former retaliated. One alleged kidnapper was killed in the crossfire while the others managed to escape.

Later, the CPLC team with the technical support of the federal intelligence agency located the hideout of the kidnappers at Neelam Colony and after a brief encounter, three more kidnappers were killed. One of the kidnappers was identified as Rana who was a cook in Mahi’s house and another as Babu, a car lifter.

Chinoy added that five policemen and a member of the CPLC member was also injured during the rescue operation. The girl was being kept at an 80-yard house in Defence Housing Authority’s slum Neelam Colony.

The girl’s parents are doctors at the Kulsoom Bai Valika Hospital in SITE and belong to a religious minority, said Chinoy, adding that there was no involvement of terrorists in the crime and that the kidnapping took place based on the information leaked by the family cook.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2013.