For ransom: With police stretched for security, provincial capital tops kidnapping cases
In 2013, around 140 people were reportedly abducted from the province.
In 2013, around 140 people were reportedly abducted from the province. DESIGN: KIRAN SHAHID
PESHAWAR:
Peshawar has topped the list with respect to cases of kidnapping for ransom in the province. In the last year alone, more than 70 people were reportedly kidnapped for ransom from the city, according to police records.
After the abduction of federal secretary Amjad Shahid Afridi from Peshawar it’s clear that this is the city of choice for kidnappers, said a high-ranking police official.
Out of the 70 abducted, 48 were recovered. It is not clear, however, if they were recovered by the police or released by their captors after ransom was exchanged.
Lakki Marwat stands second with 19 kidnappings followed by Hangu with eight cases of kidnapping for ransom. There were seven reported cases in Tank, DI Khan and Mardan had six, while four people were kidnapped for ransom in Kohat and three in Bannu, Malakand, Nowshera, Charsadda and Karak. There were also two kidnappings in Mansehra and one each in Abbottabad and Swat. This takes the total number of kidnapping for ransom cases in the province to 140.
While talking to The Express Tribune, a police official said the number of people who had been kidnapped was actually higher than those reported. Most people, he added, did not want to talk to the police or register an FIR out of fear that it might harm the abducted.
He claimed the number of people kidnapped in the district surpasses any in the province.
While talking about the Amjad Afridi case, the official said the secretary was ill and was kidnapped when he had gone to the doctor in Dabgari Gardens.
Afridi went missing on the night of March 19 when he did not return to the state guest house, where he was staying. His car was found abandoned by the motorway near Chach Interchange, Hasanabdal on Thursday night. The police said the car was handed over to Nowshera police who then gave it to Peshawar police as it was a government vehicle. Police presumed the kidnappers left the vehicle on the motorway to confuse the investigators.
Afridi had been residing at the guest house after his transfer to Peshawar from Islamabad on March 10. One of the reasons his disappearance went largely unnoticed is because his family was not living with him at the time.
Given the extreme circumstances with respect to security in the city, the police have not been able to zero in on kidnappers, the official said, adding they have been trying their best to tackle the situation.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 24th, 2014.
Peshawar has topped the list with respect to cases of kidnapping for ransom in the province. In the last year alone, more than 70 people were reportedly kidnapped for ransom from the city, according to police records.
After the abduction of federal secretary Amjad Shahid Afridi from Peshawar it’s clear that this is the city of choice for kidnappers, said a high-ranking police official.
Out of the 70 abducted, 48 were recovered. It is not clear, however, if they were recovered by the police or released by their captors after ransom was exchanged.
Lakki Marwat stands second with 19 kidnappings followed by Hangu with eight cases of kidnapping for ransom. There were seven reported cases in Tank, DI Khan and Mardan had six, while four people were kidnapped for ransom in Kohat and three in Bannu, Malakand, Nowshera, Charsadda and Karak. There were also two kidnappings in Mansehra and one each in Abbottabad and Swat. This takes the total number of kidnapping for ransom cases in the province to 140.
While talking to The Express Tribune, a police official said the number of people who had been kidnapped was actually higher than those reported. Most people, he added, did not want to talk to the police or register an FIR out of fear that it might harm the abducted.
He claimed the number of people kidnapped in the district surpasses any in the province.
While talking about the Amjad Afridi case, the official said the secretary was ill and was kidnapped when he had gone to the doctor in Dabgari Gardens.
Afridi went missing on the night of March 19 when he did not return to the state guest house, where he was staying. His car was found abandoned by the motorway near Chach Interchange, Hasanabdal on Thursday night. The police said the car was handed over to Nowshera police who then gave it to Peshawar police as it was a government vehicle. Police presumed the kidnappers left the vehicle on the motorway to confuse the investigators.
Afridi had been residing at the guest house after his transfer to Peshawar from Islamabad on March 10. One of the reasons his disappearance went largely unnoticed is because his family was not living with him at the time.
Given the extreme circumstances with respect to security in the city, the police have not been able to zero in on kidnappers, the official said, adding they have been trying their best to tackle the situation.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 24th, 2014.