A teenage girl kidnapped from Surjani the previous day was recovered on Monday from a roadside in Karachi’s Scheme-33 with “multiple physical injuries”, police and hospital officials said.

Fifty-six children, all between the ages of zero and 18, were kidnapped or went missing across Karachi in the last two months alone. The highest number of abductions were reported in District East, police data shows.

The figures follow a similar pattern from last year, when around 400 children were kidnapped or reported missing in the port city.

Surjani Town police Station House Officer (SHO) Ghulam Husain Pirzada told Dawn.com, “The girl had left her home in Yusuf Goth a day ago to purchase some food from a shop, but she did not return.”

He said the police launched a search at night after receiving a complaint from the family. Consequently, a first information report was filed in the morning.

The SHO said that the Surjani police received a call and a photo of the girl from Sachal police.

The police — after recovering her from Sachal police — took the girl to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital along with the father, who helped identify the daughter.

There were injury marks on her head and hands, the SHO said.

Meanwhile, police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said that the girl — who was around 12/13 years old — was “disoriented” and there were “multiple physical injuries” on her body.

“Findings are highly suggestive of sexual violence,” the police surgeon said.

She said all relevant samples were collected for semen serology and DNA testing while the girl was referred to the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) for treatment.

According to the police surgeon, the girl was stressed, disoriented and was not able to communicate.

“She appears to be mentally challenged,” Dr Syed said. “She has been referred to the department of psychiatry at the NICH for assessment and rehabilitation,” the official added.