September 07, 2006	Thursday	Sha'aban 13, 1427

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LAHORE, Sept 6: There has been an increase in kidnap-for-ransom cases this year as compared to the corresponding period, while police as usual seek more autonomy as well as equipment to counter such crime.

The Lahore police have registered 15 cases of kidnap for ransom during this year, against 12 in the corresponding year, while the maximum number of such incidents was reported last month.

Besides the 15 registered cases, the police claims, five ransom incidents turned out to be fake after investigation. In 12 cases, the police managed to secure the release of the kidnapped persons, and arrested the accused, submitting their challans to the court.

In the remaining three cases, the police recovered the kidnapped persons, claiming to have found clue to the kidnappers who, they say, would be arrested shortly.

Police sources said that the provincial government had recently formed a committee, headed by the home secretary, to monitor progress on kidnap-for-ransom cases. However, they said, it had shown interest in only one case. They said the police high-ups were not happy over the formation of the committee considering it an exercise in futility. “The committee merely holds meetings and hardly facilitates the police department to recover the kidnapped persons at the earliest,” they said.

They said the police top hierarchy had repeatedly requested the government to provide it (the department) with telephone recording devices to reach criminals, especially in kidnap-for-ransom cases, but they always met disappointment as the people at the helm of affairs believed that if provided the devices might be used for “political purposes”.

A senior police officer told Dawn that 100 per cent recovery of the kidnapped persons was the major achievement of the force. He said such crimes could not be forestalled, as no one could get prior information about the occurrence of such incidents. “Sheer professionalism and scientific methods have helped the CIA to secure safe release of the abducted persons,” he said and added that in such situations police were mainly concerned about the safe recovery of the kidnapped persons.

He revealed that in one such case the police paid Rs300,000 to secure the release of the child of a poor rickshaw driver.