PESHAWAR, April 18: Police in Kohat recovered Dawn’s district correspondent on Friday hours after he was reportedly kidnapped by a gang involved in heinous crimes.

Sami Paracha said a group of people had come to his house in the afternoon and asked him to accompany them to a Jirga on the outskirts of the city, where the district Nazim, he was told, was also expected to come. He realized later that he had been kidnapped,” Mr Paracha said.

He said he was threatened, beaten and locked up in a toilet.

He said that from the toilet he called Kohat SSP Abid Ali and informed him of the matter. “My captors overheard my call and snatched the mobile phone,” he said. “But the SSP got wind of the situation and recognized my captors from their conversation,” he said.

The police raided the place where Mr Paracha was held and recovered him.

The SSP said the police had arrested five people and security was being provided to Mr Paracha.

A report has been lodged with the Saddar police station.