MINGORA, Sept 14: The four minor children, who were kidnapped along with their mother in Mingora city some five months back, have reached their home without their mother, Dawn has learnt.

The children, aged between three and thirteen years, also had marks of violence on their faces and bodies. Their names are Naheed, Lubna, Sabir Shah and Kainat.

Sources said the family was taking a child to the Saidu Group of Hospitals when the woman and the children were kidnapped by a gang, run by a notorious criminal Afzal, son of Hazrat Bilal, resident of Banjot in Manglowar, Swat.

It was also stated that some close relatives of the family were involved in the incident. Two accused, Dawa Khan and Ayub Khan, sons of Hazrat Bilal, were arrested by the police from Punjab.

The police arrested two other accused — Ali Khan, son of Shamshi, resident of Banjot, and Dildar, son of Behroz, resident of Surbandr, on a tip-off by the children.

A group of social workers, led by Ghani Raziq and district councillor Ms Iqbal Jehan, members of the Citizen Action Committee of Aurat Foundation, Swat chapter, also visited the residence of the children.

They revealed that the children were not recovered by the police, rather the accused had set them free on their own.

The kidnappers released the children somewhere near Takht Bhai in Mardan and informed the Mingora police on telephone about them.

The eldest girl among the four, 13-year-old Naheed, in her statement in the court said they had been shifted by the kidnappers to Punjab.

When contacted, Swat SSP Qudratullah Marwat claimed that the police had recovered the children and that they were trying to find their mother.