RAWALPINDI: A young boy was kidnapped from Satellite Town and an attempt to kidnap another boy in Sadiqabad was foiled by locals, police said on Monday.

The son of a retired army man and a student of 9th grade, 16-year-old Attiqur Rehman was kidnapped when he left his home on 7th Road to go to a nearby book shop Saturday afternoon.

When he did not return by sunset, his parents and relatives started a search for him and called other relatives to see if he was with them. When they could not find him, Attique’s parents went to the police and registered a complaint.

The police investigating officer told Dawn that the boy’s class fellows and friends were also being questioned as part of the investigation. He said the missing boy’s parents have not yet received a ransom call, perhaps because Attique was not carrying his mobile phone with him when he left for the book shop.

According to the FIR registered with the New Town police by Raja Naveed Akhtar, the father of the kidnapped boy, Attique left for the bookshop at about 4:30pm on Saturday. He said he had no enmity with anyone and that he had not yet received a ransom call.

Elsewhere, an attempt to kidnap 14-year-old Hamza in Madina Town, Sadiqabad, was foiled by locals.

The police said Hamza was playing on the street when two men identified as Abu Bakar and Faisal Khan tried to kidnap him and were stopped by locals. The kidnappers managed to flee from the scene and the police are looking for them.

So far this year, 23 cases of kidnapping, including those involving young women, have been reported to the police, and of these, only 13 victims were recovered.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2016