TOBA TEK SINGH: Police claimed that two suspects in a kidnapping for ransom and murder of a five-year-old boy were killed in an encounter late on Tuesday night.

According to the police, a joint Muridke Police and Crime Control Department (CCD) team was taking the two detained suspects, identified as Asif and Muneeb, to recover the murder weapon and other evidence when armed men opened fire on the police party.

Police claimed the attackers attempted to free the suspects and during the exchange of fire, both the detained suspects sustained injuries and died on the spot.

Both suspects died by the firing of their own accomplices, while the attackers managed to escape taking advantage of the darkness, police claimed.

It is worth mentioning that two months ago, Aoun Abbas (5), the only brother of five sisters of a very poor family, was allegedly kidnapped by the suspects when he was playing outside his house. The suspects allegedly demanded a Rs2 million ransom for his release, however, the victim’s father, Muneer Hussain, could not arrange the money.

Police claimed that since the suspect lived near the victim’s house, they kept a close eye on the family’s activities and kept making threatening calls to Muneer from time to time for ransom.

Police claimed that when the case was transferred to the CCD, its team found that the calls were being made from a Lahore-based number. The number’s owner was found, however, it was found that he had already filed a missing Sim report.

Afterwards, CCD officials detained Asif for questioning, after which his accomplice Muneeb was also caught.

Police claimed that on Tuesday night, the body of the missing child was recovered from the village’s pond on the suspects’ lead, who had allegedly weighed down the sack by putting bricks in it so that the body could not float.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2026