Abducted?: Mystery of the missing traffic warden

Warden was on duty when unidentified armed men forced him in to their car and drove away.

LAHORE:

A traffic warden was allegedly kidnapped from Ek Morya Pul, near City railway station on Tuesday.

Warden Muhammad Azeem was performing duty at Ek Morya Pul around 11 am when unidentified armed men driving a car with an official registration number plate forced him in to their car and drove away. Chief Traffic Officer Sohail Chaudary told The Express Tribune that some of the wardens deputed at the spot had told him that Azeem had asked them for a ride to the district courts. However, a traffic police officer of the Traffic Police City Circle, requesting anonymity, said that the warden had not resumed his duty afterwards. He said the warden had submitted his cell phone –switched off – to the duty officer at the sector office and did not collect it later. The officer said he had sent another warden to Azeem’s house at around 9pm to check if he had reached home, but he hadn’t. The traffic police officer at the station sector said a report about Azeem’s disappearance had been registered. Naulakha police said that investigations were underway but they suspected that the warden had left on his own. The duty officer said Azeem’s family had not approached them as yet.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19^th, 2014.