CHINIOT: Police claimed on Tuesday to have recovered a youngster a week after he was kidnapped for a Rs2 million ransom.

District Police Officer Abdul Qadir Qamar told reporters that Usman Ahmad, a resident of Mohallah Babul Abwab Sharqi, Chenabnagar, went missing on July 21 when he was going to his workplace. On complaint, he said, the Chenabnagar police registered a case and a DSP-led team was asked to look into the matter.

He said a group of militants was recently arrested in Lahore which revealed that it planned to kidnap ‘Qadianis’ for ransom and wanted to press the government for acceptance of its demands. He said the details were communicated to the district police officers. He said mobile phone data and other tools were used to trace the kidnappers.

Police recover stolen car, arms

Meanwhile, a parcel was dropped in the house of Usman in which a demand for Rs2 million ransom was made and a “USB flash drive” containing video of kidnapping was found.

On the night between July 27 and 28, Muhammad Abdullah, a friend of Usman, told the family that one of his friends in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had informed him that Usman was in his custody. Police finally traced the suspect in KP and he confessed to kidnapping Usman, said the DPO.

He said Abdullah told police that he was in debt which he wanted to clear by making a fast buck. His accomplice Shahid Ali also was arrested, he said and added that police recovered arms, a stolen car and injections and medicines meant for intoxication.

The kidnappers kept Usman under the influence of these drugs for seven days, he said.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2015

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