GUJRANWALA: A minor who was kidnapped by his domestic servant for a ransom of Rs700,000 a few days ago was rescued by police from the captor in Kot Addu on Tuesday. Police arrested the kidnapper.

Civil Line Superintendent of Police Zeeshan Siddiqi told a press conference Ahmad Ali, son of Iftikhar Ahmad, of Kotli Macharanwala, was kidnapped by their servant Imran when he was playing in the street.

He took the child to his village in Kot Addu and demanded Rs700,000 for his release. He threatened the family that he would kill the child in case the ransom was not paid. He said a police team, led by People’s Colony Station House Officer Faryad Ali, raided a place in Kot Addu and rescued the child from Imran and arrested him.

He announced cash and certificates for the raiding team. He also appealed to the people to hire domestic staff after the verification of their data.

BODIES: The Punjab government has formed traffic reforms committees in seven districts.

According to a notification, the reforms committees have been constituted in Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Multan and Lahore districts.

The committees will be headed by district coordination officers and will have chief traffic officer or superintendent police of traffic and district officer of roads as members.

The committees will reform traffic laws and ensure their implementation for road safety besides removal of encroachments along roads and checking speeding.

ATTACK: The attack on an army-run school in Peshawar by Taliban militants and the killing of students and their teachers saddened the citizens on Tuesday.

The leaders of political and religious parties, heads of schools and colleges and civil society activists expressed their condolence to grieving families and demanding action against the militants.

They said targeting students in schools was a worst crime against humanity.

ACCIDENT: Some 12 passengers of a wagon were injured when it collided head-on with a truck near Kamoki on Tuesday.

The Lahore-to-Gujranwala van collided head-on with the truck near toll plaza on GT Road due to fog. The passengers who suffered injuries are: Tanvir, Abdul Basit, Shaheryar, Hamida Bibi, Sajida, Majid, Najam Husain, Akram, Fahad, Shafqat, Imran and Ghulam Abbas. They were admitted to the Gujranwala District Headquarters hospital in critical condition.

Police have registered a case against the drivers of both vehicles and impounded them.Drivers are at large.

OPERATION: The Gujranwala Electric Power Company (Gepco) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) will launch another operation against electricity thieves.

The decision was made at a meeting between Gepco Chief Executive Zahoor Ahmad Chohan and FIA Deputy Director Sakander Malik on Tuesday.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2014