RAWALPINDI: The body of a child, who was kidnapped by unidentified individuals on Saturday, was found in a graveyard in Sadiqabad on Sunday, bearing trauma marks.

The kidnappers asked for a Rs8 million ransom, and the body was discovered after the deadline for paying the ransom had passed.

Mohsin Sagheer, 13, from Awan Colony in Dhoke Kala Khan was kidnapped while playing outside his house on Saturday, at about 1:30pm. The discovery of his body sparked panic and anger amongst residents of the neighbourhood.

The victim’s family began a door-to-door search when he first went missing, but were unable to locate him until his parents received a handwritten letter at around 9:30pm.

“At first we thought he could have been playing in the street or busy at an election office in the area, but after sunset we grew concerned and launched a search,” the boy’s father said.

He said a two page handwritten note was found at the entrance of the house, at which point Sadiqabad police were involved in the search.

Sagheer Ahmed Awan, the boy’s father, lodged a complaint with Sadiqabad police stating that his son had been kidnapped by unidentified individuals, who were demanding Rs8 million for his safe return, and had threatened that they would leave his dead body in a graveyard if the ransom was not paid by 7am on Sunday.

Sub-inspector (SI) Abdul Majeed, who is leading the investigation, told Dawn that soon after Mr Awan came to the police with the letter, surveillance of the area began to track down the kidnappers.

Once the deadline given by the kidnappers had passed, the boy’s parents and the area residents blocked the Islamabad Expressway in protest for half an hour.

City Police Officer Israr Ahmed Abbasi met with the protesters and assured them that the police were trying to locate the culprits and recover the boy, and the protesters later dispersed.

Babar Mughal, the victim’s uncle, told Dawn that his nephew, who had an elder brother and six sisters, left the house telling his mother he would return, but did not.

Mr Mughal said that no one came forward with information regarding sightings of the boy, and added that the victim’s parents had never received any threats before.

According to an initial postmortem report, the victim was killed by suffocation. The body was returned to the family on Sunday night.

“It looks like there was no police in the city, as criminals are operating actively,” Shafqat Ali, a resident, said.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2015