KARACHI, Nov 7: An anti-terrorism court recorded the statement of an American-Pakistani businessman, who was allegedly kidnapped for Rs25 million ransom by his paternal nephew and his alleged accomplices.
Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5 fixed Nov 11 for the next hearing after recording the statement of Najamul Tariq, who was also cross-examined by defence counsel.
The victim’s paternal nephew, Adeel Mansoor, and a head constable, Khateebur Rehman, are being tried in the case, while two other accused – Syed Saeed Umer and Arsalan – have been declared absconders.
Victim Tariq deposed that three armed men kidnapped him on April 6 in the parking lot of the Baqai Hospital, Nazimabad.
Identifying accused Khateebur Rehman, the US-based businessman said that the accused showed him his official service card and told him that he was under custody before they took him in his car to a seaside hut and demanded from him Rs50 million for his release.
He said his nephew, Adeel, was also present there and he told him that the kidnappers had agreed to an amount of Rs25 million for his release.
The victim stated that the kidnappers gave him an account number and asked him to deposit the ransom money through a pay order.
Accordingly, he said, he got the pay order for Rs25 million prepared from Al Barakah Islami Bank and deposited it to the account given by the kidnappers.
He said he later told his brother about kidnapping and ransom money. He said his brother contacted the bank and got the payment stopped.
Later, Najamul Tariq said he narrated the matter to his friend, Mohammed Zafar, who took him to the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee. Later, on April 10, the victim lodged an FIR against Adeel Mansoor as he became suspicious of him because of his presence with the kidnappers.
He said that the police started investigation and tracked down Adeel Mansoor as the pay order was deposited in his account.
He said on May 1 the police also seized his cellular phone from the drawer of the Mubarak Medical Store, Nazimabad, which was owned by his nephew.
The victim said he had also identified accused Khateebur Rehman as one of the kidnappers during an identification parade on July 23 before a judicial magistrate.
Mushtaq Ahmed, counsel for Adeel Mansoor, conducted a lengthy cross-examination of the victim. He suggested that the victim had given away the money to his client out of a family deal. The victim, however, denied the suggestion, and said he did not have any business or family deal with his accused nephew.
Mir Nawaz Khan Marwat, counsel for head constable Khateebur Rehman, suggested that it was a false case against his client.
