KARACHI: The Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) and Karachi police on Wednesday recovered in separate actions an eight-year-old boy and a trader, kidnapped for ransom in different areas.

In a joint raid with a Special Investigation Unit (SIU) team, the CPLC team recovered the boy, Tufail, in the Quaidabad area and arrested the kidnapper, Qari Shaukat.

“The boy was kidnapped while returning home from a seminary in the Hijrat Colony area a couple of days ago,” said a statement issued by the CPLC.

“The kidnapper demanded half a million rupees ransom. After receiving a complaint, the CPLC traced the location and finally raided the hideout with the SIU team to recover the boy unhurt. In the process the kidnapper, Qari Shaukat, was also arrested.”

In the other raid on an abandoned house along the Northern Bypass, the joint team of police, Sindh Rangers and the CPLC recovered 39-year-old trader Yousuf Ilyas Allahwala, who was kidnapped more than a month ago and his captors were asking for Rs50 million ransom.

“An FIR about the trader’s kidnapping was lodged at the Bahadurabad police station. He was taken away from his home,” said the statement.

“The joint team of the Sindh Rangers, Karachi police and CPLC conducted many raids during the past more than a month and arrested several suspects. The leads and key information revealed by the suspects finally led the police to a house near the Northern Bypass, where his captors had kept him.”

The recovery of the two hostages was the fifth within a week by the CPLC and the Karachi police, who also helped arrest five kidnappers working for different gangs.

“There is no surge as such in kidnapping for ransom cases,” said CPLC chief Ahmed Chinoy. “We have been active and vigilant during the past several weeks and managed to recover five hostages in less than a week without paying any ransom and also arrested eight kidnappers.”

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2014