Abducted trader recovered, four kidnappers shot dead

Two alleged gangsters and robbers killed in separate encounters in the city.

KARACHI:

An abducted trader was recovered while four alleged kidnappers were killed in an exchange of fire during a raid on Saturday.

The Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) and Citizens Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) carried out a joint raid in Khamiso Goth, Gulshan-e-Maymar to find a trader identified as Faisal Mursaleen who had been kidnapped from Gulshan-e-Maymar on May 14.

Mursaleen, a goldsmith by profession, was on his way back after monitoring the progress of his under construction residence in the area when he was picked up by unidentified men and taken to their hideout. The kidnappers called his family later and asked them for one million rupees as ransom.

The authorities got the location of the kidnappers by tracing the phone calls, once that was done, they raided the hideout. When the kidnappers saw the police approaching, they opened fire at them and tried to escape. The authorities fired back in retaliation and managed to kill four alleged kidnappers.

The officials of the AVCC and CPLC claimed that these men were involved in other kidnapping for ransom cases.

According to CPLC Chief Ahmed Chinoy, these men were part of a gang that used to kidnap high profile officials from factories in SITE and North Karachi. "In the past we tried to arrest them twice but failed," he said. "This time, we managed to kill them."

The bodies of the kidnappers were taken to the Edhi morgue for identification. AVCC officials said that the police was trying to identify the men. "We have identified them through our intelligence network," said an official. "We cannot share the details as we are waiting for the families to show up. A few women came to the morgue but did not carry any identification." He added that three more kidnapping for ransom cases were still pending and they were trying to trace the kidnappers.

In an unrelated incident, two alleged gangsters were gunned down in an encounter. The alleged gangsters were killed during a joint raid conducted by the police and Rangers in Singu Lane, Lyari. The men were identified as Omair alias Choto and Asghar Ali. The police claimed that the men were associated with the Baba Ladla gang and were wanted in several criminal cases.

In Baldia Town, two alleged robbers were shot dead in an exchange of fire with the police. The unidentified men were busy mugging people in Gulshan-e-Ghazi when the incident took place. The police claimed to have seized weapons from them.

Two activists of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were arrested by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) during a raid in SITE. The CID investigations in-charge, Mazhar Mashwani, said that the militants, Anisur Rehman and Syed Ahmed Raza, were arrested along with two hand-grenades and two TT pistols. He added that the arrested militants were close aides of the TTP Maulvi Khalid group.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2014.