KARACHI, Dec 10: Six accused, including sons of two senior government officials, were indicted on Friday in a kidnapping for ransom case by an anti-terrorism court.

Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-V fixed Saturday for recording the statements of the prosecution witnesses after the accused denied the charges and pleaded "not guilty".

The gang of kidnappers, comprising sons of a senior superintendent of police, a senior preventive officer of customs and a deputy controller of the KBCA, was busted in mid of September.

The accused - Fida Hussain Khoso, son of SSP Nadir Khoso, Junaid Ansari, son of KBCA official Abdul Rehman Ansari, Qurban Ali Khoso, Abdur Rasheed, Atique Bajwah and Shahzad Ahmed - were charged with the kidnapping of Ahmed Naeem, who was released after the payment of ransom in Manchester. Five gang members - Mujeebur Rehman Bhutto, Khalid Aziz, Himmat Ali Khoso, Niaz Khoso and Yasir Khoso have been declared absconders.

Suspects Mujeeb Khan Bhutto and Ghulam Murtaza Khan Bhutto, both sons of Senior Preventive Officer of Customs Rano Khan Bhutto, and their alleged accomplice Saeed Naqi were arrested in Manchester immediately after the delivery of the ransom and the subsequent release of the victim, Ahmed Naeem, son of a vehicle dealer, in Karachi.

A close liaison between Manchester and Karachi police authorities on investigation in the case led to the immediate arrest of Fida Khoso, son of SSP Nadir Khoso, and Junaid Ansari, son of KBCA official Abdur Rehman Ansari, and their alleged accomplice Qurban Khoso in Karachi immediately after the payment of ransom.

Later on Oct 7, two absconding accused - Atique Bajwah and Shahzad Ahmed - were arrested. While recoding his confessional statement under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code before a judicial magistrate, accused Qurban Khoso stated that the kidnappers had brought the victim to his house on June 11.

According to him, the accused threatened to kill him in case he did not keep the hostage at his house. He stated that he abetted the kidnappers out of life threats. A special team of the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) and Anti-violence Crime Cell (AVCC) started the investigation after the victim's father, Mohammed Ahmed of Shahnawaz Motors, reported the matter to the authorities.

The investigators intercepted ransom calls originating from Manchester. The kidnappers called the victim's family and initially demanded Rs50 million for his release.

However, after a series of negotiations on phone from Manchester, the kidnapper agreed to the ransom of 56,000 pounds sterling (Rs6.1 million). The gang is also stated to be involved in the kidnapping of a builder, Mohammad Ali, who was released after the payment of ransom in Manchester.