KARACHI: The Karachi Bureau Chief of Geo TV Fahim Siddiqui was kidnapped from Karachi's North Nazimabad area on Saturday and was tortured before being dumped in Manghopir, according to police and the victim.
Four suspects travelling in a vehicle kidnapped the journalist as he left his home within the jurisdiction of Shahra-e-Noorjehan in his car on link road, said Karachi-West DIG Feroze Shah.
Shah said three of them wore police uniforms while the fourth man was in a civilian dress. They also snatched his mobile phone and his licensed pistol, he added.
They subjected him to ‘slight torture’ before dumping him in Manghopir, the DIG further said.
The DIG West said that the suspects were not travelling in a police mobile and that they were not ‘policemen’ according to an initial probe into the incident.
He said it was an ‘unfortunate incident’ and that police had launched an investigation.
SSP Central Muqaddas Haider, who is conducting probe into the incident, told Dawn that Fahim Siddiqui in his statement before the police stated that there were five kidnappers — four of them wore police uniforms — and “they were travelling in ‘light blue colour’ police van”.
SSP Haider clarified that this type of police van was no more being used by the police.
He said that the journalist stated that some of the suspects were travelling in Toyota Corolla car. They intercepted him and forcibly took him out of his car.
They covered his face with a piece of cloth and left him near a filter plant in Manghopir area after driving around the city streets for 25 minutes, he added.
“They also slapped him,” said the senior police officer. “They also abandoned his car but took away its keys.”
The senior journalist told the police he had not received any such threats from anyone, revealed SSP Haider. He said an FIR was being lodged about the kidnapping and torture case.
Fahim Siddiqui — while speaking to Geo TV — said that the suspects wore police uniforms and a civilian dress.
“They intercepted me and subjected me to torture after identification,” claimed the bureau chief of the channel.
"They took me in their car and left me near Hub Dam in Manghopir."
The journalist alleged that the kidnappers used ‘abusive language’ against Geo TV and him, adding that they also put a piece of cloth on his mouth. He further claimed they took away his mobile phone, a licensed pistol and other valuables.
