LAHORE, Aug 28: Hafizabad police claim to have recovered a five-year-old girl kidnapped for Rs20 million ransom and arrested 591 proclaimed offenders and 577 court absconders involved in incidents of murder, dacoity, robbery and gang-rape in the ongoing month of Ramazan.

Police seized Rs2.3 million cash, 15 cell phones, a tractor-trolley, five motorcycles, two peter engines, a truck and illegal weapons from them.

According to information released to reporters from the office of Hafizabad District Police Officer Abdur Rab Chaudhry on Sunday, the police also took 45 cattle-lifters into custody and recovered 56 cattle worth Rs5 million from them.

Police also busted 14 criminal gangs, arresting their 38 members and recovering cash and valuables worth Rs1.9 million and 27 illegal weapons from them.

The DPO had constituted a joint investigation team to trace Mehrosh Akbar of Kharal village of Saddar police station who was kidnapped for ransom from Ali Foundation Kharal village on Aug 13, 2011.

The kidnappers demanded Rs20 million ransom on a telephonic communication with the family on Aug 16 and consequently the police registered a case.

The police team, with the help of the cell phone technology, the victim's family and the Swabi police, managed to recover the girl from Swabi district of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa on Aug 27 and arrested two kidnappers.

Police initially traced the location of two callers (abductors) in Swabi with the help of two identity cards of a Sindhi citizen and a police informer.

With the help of the Sim record, the police traced and arrested Wilayat, a notorious car-lifter in Swabi, who further disclosed positions of callers.

Police picked two kidnappers, including Ziarat, who had kept the girl near Malakand agency's border.

The kidnappers, during conversations with the family, reduced the ransom money from Rs20 million to Rs10 million, but the girl was recovered safely and without ransom.

While Sukhayki police seized a counterfeit currency-making equipment worth Rs5 million during a raid.

In a crackdown against illegal weapons, police arrested 400 people and seized five Kalashnikovs, 155 pistols, 17 carbine rifles, 41 rifles and 15 revolvers besides 1,266 bullets.

Police also detained 349 drug peddlers, 11 liquor suppliers and recovered 889 litrer liquor, 220 litres raw material used in liquor, 19.6kg heroin and 16.6kh hashish from them.