Misplaced bet: Four under arrest for faking kidnap for ransom

Police trace ‘victim’ through mobile phone surveillance.

MULTAN:

A bet between friends to see if the Multan district police were any good played out in an elaborate abduction drama, that fell through when Jaleel Abad police recovered the ‘victim’ and unravelled the scheme on Tuesday.

Muhammad Muneer, 19, a resident of Jaleel Abad Colony, had placed a bet with his friend Usman to “check the investigation standards of the police”. Muneer worked at his father’s jewellery shop.

The two arranged for Muneer to be ‘kidnapped for ransom’.  They made a deal to give the ransom to whichever of them won the bet.

Last week, an anonymous caller informed Muneer’s parents that their son had been kidnapped and demanded Rs1 million. When the family insisted that they did not have the money, the demand was reduced to Rs700,000.

Usman told Munir’s parents to approach the police with the matter. Munir’s parents kept Usman abreast of all the details of the police investigation.

The police advised Muneer’s father to keep the abductors engaged in negotiations over the ransom.

Jaleel Abad SHO Zaheeruddin Babar constituted a team to keep an eye out for Usman. He told The Express Tribune that they had kept tabs on phone calls made by members of his family. They found that a SIM owned by Muneer, which had been discarded two years ago, was again in use. Usman and Muneer had two other accomplices in the plan who would also contact them on that number.

Babar said none of Muneer’s family members remembered anything about the SIM, but it had been registered under his name and was easily traced.

Police recovered Muneer on Tuesday and he confessed to plotting the fake abduction. Jaleel Abad police have arrested Muneer, Usman and their two accomplices.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7^th, 2014.