July 02, 2008	Wednesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 27, 1429

KARACHI, July 1: Cases of kidnapping for ransom have increased dramatically over the past six months and it is believed that Lyari-based gangsters, who are targeting industrialists and businessmen in particular, are responsible.

Meanwhile, the surge in such crimes experienced in 2007 is the highest since 1990.

In the first half of 2008, the city experienced 38 cases of kidnapping for ransom, of which some are still pending while police investigations continue.

The most recent case took place on Monday evening when an elderly man and his grandson were kidnapped from the jurisdiction of the Manghopir police station. The victims, along with their Prado jeep, were abducted by armed men, but the case is so far not clearly defined since a senior police official told Dawn that a ransom call was still awaited.

Meanwhile, a leading businessman who was kidnapped from outside his factory in the Site area on June 26 was recovered by police during a raid on an Orangi house on Monday. But sources in the law enforcement agencies said that another such case remained pending, concerning the kidnapping of a young boy from a family of prominent jewellers.

A total of 64 kidnapping for ransom cases were reported in Karachi during 2007, which is the highest figure since 1990, when 79 such crimes were reported. The figure is still considered a record reference.

‘Technological support needed’

Explaining the surge in kidnapping last year, an official from the Citizens’ Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) said that about eight to 10 abductions were orchestrated by a single gang led by Sultan Zeb, who used to kidnap children from the Pakhtoon pockets of the city. After making the ransom calls, the accused men used to release the victims in the Federally Administered Tribal Area (Fata) in exchange for the ransom money.

The official said that mobile or short-term kidnappings were also reported during 2007 and the current year.

“Kidnapping for ransom cases have definitely gone up in Karachi and Lyari gangs have been involved in most instances,” said Sharfuddin Memon, the chief of the CPLC.

Such cases have been handled jointly by the CPLC and the Anti-Violent Crime Unit (AVCU), and the involvement of gangs headed by Ghaffar Zikri and Rehman Dakait has been confirmed.

“Operations against them were planned in the past but could somehow not been implemented,” said Mr Memon. “The members of these gangs are also involved in street crimes. The government has to take charge and plan a clean-up operation with the help of the Rangers.”

The CPLC chief believes that the situation is urgent since citizens are losing confidence in the law enforcement agencies. “The police should be provided with technological support to combat this heinous crime,” he pointed out. “Ironically, the latest technological support is still limited to the use of intelligence agencies.”

A senior officer concurred, observing that “had the police been given access to technical support, their investigations would have improved drastically.”

Another senior law enforcement official told Dawn that the net had recently been tightened around the Lyari gangs and the finances of both groups had suffered. “It seems that these groups have resorted to carrying out kidnappings for ransom in order to generate funds,” he commented.

According to official statistics, the highest number of kidnapping for ransom cases was reported in 1990, when 79 such incidents were registered.

A downward trend was observed in subsequent years with 45 cases in 1991 and a gradual reduction in the number of such crimes. However, the figures jumped up in 2004 and 2005 when 39 cases were reported both years. Between January 1990 and April 2007, a total of 441 kidnapping for ransom cases were reported in the city, of which 295 were solved without the handing over of the ransom.