Homecoming: 11-year-old boy returns home after 14 months

Gada was kidnapped by his brother-in-law who was seeking revenge from his sister

SUKKUR: An 11-year-old boy who was kidnapped by armed men from his house nearly 14 months ago was recovered by Khairpur police on Sunday. The police found that the boy was kidnapped by his brother-in-law who was seeking revenge from his sister.

The family tussle started as early as 2013 when a wanted criminal Anwar alias Raju Narejo fell in love with Umeedan Narejo, Gada's sister, and married her, narrated Umeedan's sister Zubaida. The marriage was doomed from the start as Umeedan found herself a victim of domestic violence, she said.

When Raju's elder brother, Murad, who was also a wanted criminal with a bounty of Rs1.5 million, was killed in an encounter, Raju blamed his wife for tipping off the police, she recalled. He began threatening to kill her so she called up the police helpline and asked for help. The then Gambat police station SHO contacted her and suggested a plan to escape from her husband.

The next day, Umeedan complained of severe stomach pain due to which Raju asked his younger brother, Ameer, to take her to a doctor in Gambat. On their way, the two of them were intercepted by the police. Ameer opened fire at the law enforcers and tried to escape but he died in the crossfire. Umeedan was taken into custody and admitted to the Darul Aman shelter. Her name was changed to Muskan Sheikh to keep her identity safe.

Raju blamed his wife for the deaths of both his brothers. He went to the house of Umeedan's mother, Zarina, and asked her to reveal her daughter's whereabouts. When she refused, he shot her dead and kidnapped her son, Gada.

When he learned that the woman by the name of Muskan being kept at the women shelter was actually his wife, he bribed some officials and managed to get her out of the shelter along with two other women, all of whom are still missing for nearly a year now. The police learned that the women got out due to inside help but they have yet to take any action against the 'insiders'.

According to police officials, Raju was arrested by the Sukkur police around 20 days ago and was later handed over to the Khairpur police. Khairpur SSP Nasir Aftab told The Express Tribune that when the police interrogated Raju, he revealed the location where Gada was being kept. The police raided the hideout in the katcha area of Faiz Muhammad Bhindo and, after a brief encounter, managed to recover Gada safely. They handed him over to his elder sister, Zubaida.

Zubaida was thankful that her brother has come back. She also appreciated the role that Ajrak Welfare Foundation president Bushra Syed played in fighting for this case from the start. "It is because of her efforts that my brother is with me today," she said.

She was, however, clear that she wanted nothing to do with her sister, Umeedan. "She has proved to be a curse for the family," she said. "My mother was killed and my brother was kidnapped because of her."

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2015.