KARACHI: A boy and his sister, who had reportedly gone missing in North Nazimabad on Tuesday, returned safely home on Wednesday, police said.

However, a Rangers spokesperson claimed that it was a kidnapping case as the siblings’ mother had received a call demanding Rs1m ransom for their release.

Central SSP Zeeshan Shafiq Siddiqi told Dawn that the family said that a 12-year-old boy and his 11-year-old sister had left their home in Block-H on Tuesday night to purchase burgers.

However, he said that the children told the police that they had left home after quarrelling with their maternal aunt.

The police said that someone took both the siblings to his/her home on Tuesday night and then when the issue was highlighted on the media and social media they dropped the missing siblings near a shopping mall in Hyderi.

A citizen informed the police about their presence, after which the police rushed to the spot and took them to police station.

The SSP said their parents had been separated and both the siblings were living with their maternal relatives. After separation, their father had married another woman whereas their own mother worked and lived in Dubai.

The Hyderi Market police had registered an FIR under section 364-A of Pakistan Penal Code and launched an investigation.

SSP Siddiqi said that in their statement, both the siblings complained that at home, they were subjected to an undesirable attitude by their maternal aunt and grandmother. They had left home on their own after quarrelling with their maternal aunt.

A Rangers spokesperson said it was a kidnapping case which the paramilitary force and police had jointly foiled.

The spokesperson added that the siblings’ mother had received a ransom call from abroad and the kidnappers had demanded Rs1 million for their release.

The Rangers and police after receiving information exercised technical resources and traced the children.

“The kidnappers abandoned the children in Hyderi Market in order to avoid their arrest,” said a Rangers statement.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2024