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| October 15, 2005 | Saturday | Ramzan 10, 1426 |
Criminals exploiting technology
CHINIOT, Oct 14: Chiniot tehsil has been a hub of organized crimes — from kidnap for ransom to dacoity, robbery to terrorism — for the last several years. Flooding of the new communication technologies has further strengthened and organized the contacts among the criminals of inter-district gangs. Even the people can hire their services more readily to achieve their ulterior motives.
An easy access to criminals and with a strong propensity to become wealthier overnight, Muhammad Ali had conceived a plan to have his relative’s three-and-a-half-years-old son Fazal Abbas Shah kidnapped for ransom.
Zulfiqar Haider Shah of Rajoa Sadat was earning his livelihood from a five acres of farmland. Since his farmland, located along the Chiniot-Faisalabad Road, has come under the industrial area, he was offered a lucrative price of Rs10 million.
Muhammad Ali, a dispenser at a private hospital, decided to cash in on the fortune of the family and made a nefarious plan to kidnap the child for ransom. On Sept 22 last, Muhammad Ali went to the house of Zulfikar and allured the child with candies. After bringing the child out of village, he handed him over to his friend. The police did not reveal his identity for he has links with criminals of Bhera.
He took the child to criminals’ hideout located somewhere in the mountains of Khewera Salt Range mines.
The family got worried and searched him everywhere when the child did not return till late that evening. At last, they informed the police who registered a case against the unidentified kidnappers.
The Jhang DPO constituted a team comprising Chiniot ASP Hamayun Masood Sindhu, Sadar SHO Sheikh Abid Ghani and SI Iqbal Chishti to look into the matter.
The kidnappers contacted the family from a mobile phone No 0333-6809953 and demanded Rs2.5 million ransom for the release of the child. In the guise of his father, the policemen held talks with the kidnappers by phone No 6335240. They asked for some time in arranging the money. In the meanwhile, they also tried to settle the mode of payment and the safe recovery of the child.
After six days of negotiations, kidnappers demanded that only one man with the required money should come by a car at the Rawalpindi motorway interchange. They also threatened to kill the child if the police were informed.
Accused Muhammad Ali, during this period, would often come to the house of Zulfikar to share his ‘grief’.
The police also checked the ownership of the mobile number, but it was revealed that the sim was bought from an agent without getting the NIC and address of the user.
However, the police, on suspicion, monitored the activities of Muhammad Ali for some days and arrested him on Sept 28. Following an initial interrogation, he made a clean breast of his crime.
During investigation, he also revealed the whereabouts of kidnappers and the place where they hid the child. At this, a police party raided the hideout inside the mountainous region of Khewera at Channan village. But the raiding team found only the child in unconscious state while the accused had already escaped after knowing about the arrest of Muhammad Ali. The child was later handed over to his parents.
After a few days, the police arrested two more accused Muhammad Zubair and Aoun Shah while their accomplices Nasar and Abbas are still at large.
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