RAWALPINDI, May 30: Three policemen have been arrested and a hunt is on for three more for their involvement in kidnapping a property dealer and his nephew and extorting money from them, police said on Monday.

The policemen raided a hotel in Rawalpindi and picked Farasat Ali Khan and his nephew Zeeshan Arif, telling them they were wanted in a terrorist case. The two were detained at another hotel near Faizabad for several hours.

Khan, a property dealer in Azad Kashmir, was in Rawalpindi to visit one of his friends, Shahid Mehmood, on last Friday. He was staying at a local hotel with his nephew. “Three of the policemen were in uniforms and carrying guns. They started beating us with rifle butts, saying we were terrorists and on their most wanted list,” he said.

Khan's car was used to take him and Arif to another hotel in Faizabad. “Four policemen sat in my car and the two others followed us on police motorbikes.”

Afterwards the policemen took the uncle and nephew to Lehar in Kashmir and detained them for two days, demanding Rs700,000 for their release. After negotiations, the two men were released after they paid the policemen Rs300,000. However, the policemen gave them Rs1,000 for the car's fuel. Shortly after release, the property dealer contacted Waris Khan police station in Rawalpindi, leading to arrest of three of the accused policemen. They have been identified as Wasi Ullah, Malik Wasim and Zahoor alias Shah Jee.

Wasi and Zahoor were posted at New Town police station and Wasim was deployed at CIA centre. Police said they have launched a hunt for the three other accused.