RAWALPINDI: An attempt to kidnap two brothers was foiled and a suspect was arrested by the Ratta Amral police on Wednesday.

Maazuddin, a 30-year-old labourer from Kabul, was living in Ratta Amral, and was arrested on kidnapping charges.

“The suspect has no criminal record and was working as a labourer for the last 15 years in the city. But the police had to arrest him and register a case against him after the father of the two children registered a complaint with us,” said Sub-Inspector (SI) Mazhar Iqbal.

The SI said Maazuddin was wandering around the school and had told the security guard that he was there to collect brothers Awais and Hamza, who study in prep and are sons of Aurangzeb. He said their parents had sent him to bring them.

In his complaint, Aurangzeb, who is a fruit merchant, said his brother-in-law Gohar Rehman usually picked the children from school which is why the school’s principal, Sardar Pervez, asked Maazuddin to sit in his office while he called Aurangzeb to confirm.

When Aurangzeb said he had not sent anyone to pick up his children, the suspect was handed over to the police.

The children’s uncle, Gohar Rehman, said the labourer was seen lurking around the school for the last few days and had also followed them.

After the administrations of two primary schools in Mandra were threatened with abductions recently, police guards in uniform and plainclothes were deployed at the two schools, who were later withdrawn.

The principal of the schools, Mohammad Haroon Yousuf, has expressed concerns when the guards were withdrawn. The caller has not yet been tracked down.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2016