RAWALPINDI: The police have been unable to trace four of its officials who have been missing for two months. Another policeman, who was dismissed from service, went missing last week.

The four police officials, two of them already dismissed from service, disappeared on September 21.

The police said the four officials men had ‘illegally detained’ a suspect in a house in Naseerabad area and were kidnapped along with the detainee by unidentified people.

The kidnappers later also demanded Rs3.2 million for the release of the police officials.

Two of the officials were posted to the Police Lines and residing in Naseerabad.

A kidnapping case was registered with the Naseerabad police on the complaint of Sajid Nazeer, a brother-in-law of constable Mohammad Ibrahim, who is among the four missing men.

The complainant told the police that Ibrahim had been posted to the Punjab Constabulary for two years and reported back to the Rawalpindi Police Lines on September 21.

After reporting on duty, he went to his friend’s house in Naseerabad the same day and disappeared.

Sajid Nazeer told Dawn that Ibrahim had contacted his wife soon after reporting back to the police lines but later his mobile phone was found switched off.

He said his brother-in-law went to the house of constable Raheel Butt in Naseerabad where Shuja Ali and Muzaffar were also present.

He said as they were sitting in the house, 13 people arrived there on a double-cabin vehicle and kidnapped the four men.When the station house officer of Naseerabad, Raja Nadeem Zafar, was contacted, he maintained that none of the four police personnel had been kidnapped from Rawalpindi. He said Ibrahim was in Lahore when he went missing.

“Police have obtained the call data of the missing persons which suggested that they were not in Rawalpindi when they went missing. Police will send the case file to the Lahore police for further investigation,” the SHO added.

Meanwhile, there has been no clue to a head constable who went missing on Nov 21from the Naseerabad area, his family claimed.

Mohammad Saleem, the father of the sacked head constable Mohammad Azeem, in his complaint lodged with the city police officer stated that his son left his house with his brother on Monday.

After reaching Saddar, Azeem told his brother that he would return home in the evening. He said the family had not been able to find a clue to Azeem.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2016