ISLAMABAD: Four officials of the Islamabad and Rawalpindi police were arrested in Attock for their alleged involvement in a kidnapping for ransom case.

Sources said that three days ago a constable of the capital police deployed at the office of the superintendent of police Saddar zone went missing. Efforts to trace him remained unproductive. Later, the Attock police approached the capital police and informed them about the arrest of the constable in connection with a kidnapping for ransom case.

Three other policemen from Rawalpindi working at its IT department were also put behind bars along with the constable by the Attock police.

When contacted, a spokesman for the Attock police confirmed to Dawn that the policemen had been arrested. He said the accused were operating a gang involved in kidnapping for ransom.

The men were booked for allegedly kidnapping a businessman in Attock and receiving Rs4 million for his release

He said the suspects kidnapped a businessman from Hazro 10 days ago and later demanded Rs10 million from his family. The family got a case registered with the Attock police and also negotiated the ransom amount with the kidnappers and settled it at Rs4 million. After the payment of the ransom, the businessman was released, he added.

Later, the investigators of the case with the help of call record traced the kidnappers. A raid was conducted which led to the arrest of four persons who later turned out to be officials of the Islamabad and Rawalpindi police.

During the interrogation, the accused confessed to the crime and disclosed that in disguise of officials of intelligence and security agencies they kidnapped businessmen and took them to their hideout on the pretext of security checking. After detaining the kidnap victims at their hideout, the accused called their families and demanded ransom for their release.

The suspects said they used rented vehicles, especially double-cabin or Sport Utility Vehicles to kidnap the businessmen.

It may be recalled that on April 12, a constable of the capital police was arrested after an encounter with the Awami Colony police in Karachi. The encounter took place after the constable along with his accomplices tried to escape after committing a robbery.

Meanwhile, the capital police arrested 12 outlaws from different parts of the city and recovered narcotics, weapons and valuables from them, said the police.

Published in Dawn May 16th , 2015

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