GUJRANWALA, June 11: A 14-year or so girl allegedly kidnapped and sent to a brothel in Lahore was released on Tuesday only after the Lahore High Court (LHC) interfered into the case, the girl’s family says. But her release is linked with a petition wherein a man claims to be the husband of the girl and wants the kidnap case scrapped. The LHC will take up the plea on June 14.

Muhammad Yousaf, of Gujranwala, told Dawn that her sister ‘HB’ was kidnapped by some unidentified people seven weeks ago. Later, an anonymous caller informed him that her sister was in the custody of Mai Billo, a madam of Lahore.

He says he visited Bari Studio Lahore with his mother and brother Waqas to find the whereabouts of Billo where from he learnt the madam ran a brothel in the red-district area in Lahore and her front-man Arshad Dogar, alias Goshi Dogar, looked into her affairs. When the family met Dogar, he arranged a few-minute meeting with his sister.

Later, Dogar told him that his sister had married someone with her consent and they had better forget her. Yousaf says he and his mother met the Gujranwala deputy inspector general and informed him about the incident. On his interference, Baghbanpura police registered a case on May 19.

In the FIR, Yousaf stated that Dogar had told him that seven or eight people came to Billo and offered to sell the kidnapped girl for Rs70,000. Billo when refused the offer, the kidnappers dropped ‘HB’ there without any payment and fled.

On May 31, 2008, Yousaf gave another application to Baghbanpura police stating Billo and his one protector Malik Shahid had been threatening him of consequences on his mobile phone to withdraw the case. He said the madam and her pimps had also kidnapped his brother, Waqas to pressure him to withdraw the case. Police did not take any action, he alleged, adding that they demanded money and transport to raid the den in Lahore.

While he was fighting for the recovery of his sister, Yousaf received an order from the LHC to appear in court on June 9 because the “husband of his sister had filed a writ seeking abolishment of the kidnapping case”. Yousaf said Billo had managed the “bogus” marriage of ‘HB’ with one of her protectors, Badar Baig, to save her skin.

Investigation Officer Ali Akbar told Dawn he had raided Billo's den three times but unfortunately neither Dogar could be arrested nor the girl could be released. He denied police had demanded money and transport from the complainant.

The girl is with her family in Gujranwala and she refused to talk to the reporter.