An official of Sindh Police was among the five suspected kidnappers killed in a shootout in Karachi on Wednesday evening.

The shootout had occurred during a police operation to recover the abducted son of PPP MPA Ghulam Murtaza Baloch. He was safely recovered from a house in Gadap, police had said.

On Thursday, Malir SSP Rao Anwar Ahmed confirmed that Mukhtiar Ali, a policeman from Shikarpur, was among the five killed.

According to the SSP, Ali had come to Karachi earlier this year while the census was underway and had since been involved in cases of kidnapping for ransom.

The kidnapping

Hayat Baloch, the 22-year-old son of PPP legislator and Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Katchi Abadis Murtaza Baloch, had been kidnapped along with some relatives on their way to Gadap from Malir Cantonment three days ago, officials said.

While other hostages were released at a deserted place in Gadap late Monday night, Hayat was taken by the abductors to Gadap Town.

The kidnappers had called from different areas in Karachi and Hub (Balochistan) to demand a ransom of Rs10 million for his safe release.

In his brief talk with the media following the youth’s recovery, Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal had disclosed that two women were also detained for interrogation during a raid on the building where Hayat had been kept by his captors for nearly two days.

SSP Anwar said at the time that the kidnappers belonged to a local gang of criminals. There was no evidence suggesting their affiliation with any militant outfit, he said, adding that they “looked like locals”.