JACOBABAD, May 12: Kidnappers snatched 20 minor children, majority of them under five years of age, from Jacobabad, Kandhkot and Kashmore over last two years, brutally killed five after their parents failed to pay huge ransom and still hold two as hostages.

Organised gangs of criminals who reportedly hail from Balochistan and the rural areas of Jacobabad have turned the heinous crime into a lucrative business by instilling fear and harassment among area people.

Police officials mainly act silent spectators and fail to move into action even after the savage criminals kill their hostages after the poor parents can not pay huge ransom.

Attaullah, 4, was criminally assaulted and ultimately killed, sending shockwaves into the sentient section of the country. Wali Mohammad Brohi, a minor child, also met the same fate.

Ten-year-old Raj Kumar from Jacobabad was killed after his poor parents failed to arrange the huge amount of ransom. The criminals butchered the innocent child and threw away his body.

The savages killed another victim, Allah Wassai, 4, who was abducted from Soomra Mohallah, after ripping her ears to get six golden earrings she was wearing. Her body was found three days after the kidnapping in Habahoo Mohalla in the jurisdiction of airport police station.

Police found the golden earrings in the possession of a convict who was now in jail but did not make any further progress on the case. The story does not end here. In Kandhkot, Erum and Tahra were abducted on March 26, 2008 and after 43 days, police got them released. Two minor boys, Adid Mughal and Naeem Mughal were also abducted and were released in Sadiqabad, Punjab after two months.

There are others who are still in the clutches of the criminals and await their fate as the police have so far done very little either to save the lives of hostages or get them released.

Veeraj Kumar, 12, abducted from Kandhkot has not yet returned and Fazeela Sarki, 7, kidnapped from Thull has not been found yet. An unspecified number of minor children who have not been reported are still in the clutches of kidnappers who have shown they can kill them for non-payment of ransom.