ISLAMABAD: Residents of G-8/1 on Sunday caught a woman who was allegedly attempting to kidnap a child, and handed her over to the police.
However, police said the woman was not mentally sound, and claimed she could not be involved in such activity.
A local resident, Javed Mehmood, told Dawn he was passing through Street 83 when a woman kidnapped a child playing on the street and tried to flee.
“Fortunately, the child’s family was standing near the gate and they saw her try to kidnap the child. They started running after the woman and shouted for help,” he said.
“Some cabbies were standing at the end of the street and they caught the woman and recovered the child. After that, people gathered and they decided to hand the woman over to the police,” he said.
The duty officer at the Karachi Company police station, Atta Mohammad, said that while residents had handed the woman over to the police, she did not look like she was a kidnapper.
“The woman, who is around 50 years old, is mentally disturbed. She lives in the Sihala police station area, but she mostly remains around G-8 and the district courts. She has been arrested previously, and sent to jail, but since leaving there she has once again started roaming the area,” he said.
“Unfortunately, people have panicked after rumours of child abductions, and they have become suspicious of every person,” he added.
Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2016