KARACHI: A large number of students, civil society activists, leaders of different political parties and members of legal and media fraternity staged a sit-in in Clifton on Tuesday with the family of Dua Mangi, a 20-year-old female student who was kidnapped in a DHA commercial area a few days ago.

They demanded her early and safe recovery and arrest of the people behind the crime.

Carrying placards and chanting slogans, the protesters also expressed dissatisfaction over the police performance and investigation into the case, saying that the law enforcers had failed to make any breakthrough despite passage of four days.

Addressing the demonstrators, Laila Mangi, the elder sister of Dua, said that the investigators had failed to meet their expectations, and their concerns for Dua’s safety were growing with each passing day.

The protest staged at the Teen Talwar roundabout was also joined by PTI lawmakers Khurram Sher Zaman and Aftab Qureshi, PPP leader Najmi Alam and by members of the Sindh Thinkers Forum.

Police investigation

Meanwhile, the police investigators claim they are looking into different angles to solve the case.

An official wishing not to be named said the investigators suspected a criminal gang was behind the kidnapping of Ms Mangi. A preliminary probe into the case had revealed that a criminal gang had intercepted the 20-year-old girl and her friend as they were walking on the road, injuring the man and kidnapping her for ransom. He, however, said that her family had so far not received any ransom call.

Additionally, police claim they have made some progress in the case, citing the recovery of the car used by the abductors. The car was found abandoned in Gulshan-i-Iqbal on Tuesday, within the limits of Sharea Faisal. The official, who is familiar with the case, said that the car had been snatched in Ferozabad on Nov 27.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2019