ATTOCK, March 11: The Rangu police have arrested five persons allegedly involved in kidnapping for ransom in NWFP including a nephew of former Punjab provincial minister.

The gang was allegedly involved in two separate kidnapping- for-ransom cases, it has been learnt. The accused were sent to the district jail Attock, sources said.

SHO Police station Rangu Inspector Chaudhry Riaz told Dawn on Tuesday that five persons including Altaf Hussain, Alamgir, Tajwali residents of Nowshera district and Muhammad Shafi resident of Bara(tribal area) were arrested by Police station Gulbarg, Peshawar in January this year on the charges of kidnapping for ransom activities.

During interrogation, the accused also disclosed that they were also involved in a kidnapping incident of Director of a private Tobacco company Akram Khan and his driver Ehsan Khan seven months before, he said.

Akram Khan, who is also nephew of provincial minister Punjab Col (Rtd) Sujah Khanzada, along with his driver was on way to his office by his Land Cruiser Jeep, when he was intercepted by some armed persons near village Noorpur on Shadikhan- Gondal road and taken away both of them along with luxury vehicle to unknown destination of NWFP on August 10, 2007, he recalled.