PESHAWAR: The local police on Friday recovered an abducted trader and arrested four kidnappers.

However, another kidnapper was killed in the exchange of fire.

Spokesman for the police Jalaluddin said armed men had kidnapped Imran from his Zaryab Colony house on June 25 and demanded Rs2 million ransom for his release.

He said on a tip-off, the police later arrested Afghan national Suleman, who disclosed the trader was chained at a house in Madina Colony.

The spokesman said the police raided the house, killed kidnaper Abdul Karim in the exchange of fire and recovered the trader, who was chained in a room.

He said a 30-bore pistol and a car were seized during the raid.

The spokesman said Usman, Zainab and Naeema and brothers Javed and Fayyaz were also taken into custody for the kidnapping.

The kidnapped trader, who runs hardware business in Reti Bazaar of Ghanta Ghar area, insisted he had no enmity towards anyone and was kidnapped at gunpoint.

The police said a case against kidnappers was registered at the Faqirabad police station.

WATCHMAN ELECTROCUTED: A watchman was electrocuted near a police checkpoint in Peshawar Saddar area on Friday.

A police official said Ghulam Nabi died after he mistakenly touched a live electricity wire on Arbab Road.

However, local residents blamed the death on the negligence of the Pesco linesmen, who, they insisted, didn’t properly cover electric wires despite repeated requests.

A guard deployed at a nearby building said the Pesco linemen showed up and suspended electric supply more than 20 minutes after the incident.

He said the watchman was later shifted to the Combined Military Hospital but doctors declared him dead.

The police said they hadn’t registered any case of the incident.

Meanwhile, Awami National Party, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain on Friday criticised the Pesco over the death and said the power company’s linemen didn’t do their duty diligently and therefore, a poor watchman had died.

He demanded registration of a case of criminal negligence against the relevant Pesco officials and payment of compensation to the watchman’s family.

Hussain said the Pesco officials should do their duties diligently to protect public life and property against electricity-triggered damage.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2014