HYDERABAD, June 16: DIG Crime Branch Farhat Junejo has said that role of people associated with police department, doctors’ community as well as media in kidnapping of neurosurgeon Dr Aftab Qureshi can not be ruled out.

Addressing a press conference at his office on Saturday, Mr Junejo reiterated that Hyderabad police were not taken into confidence by Citizen Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) and Anti Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) over its rescue operation on May 30 that led to death of Prof Dr Qureshi.

He said that 11 people were directly involved in the case and of them eight had been arrested and the remaining would be arrested soon. An important personality would also be arrested, he disclosed.

He said that of the five absconding accused two belonged to a nationalist and a political party.

DIG rejected CPLC chief Ahmed Chinoy’s claim that Dr Ashok and his mother were hostages. Ashok was a quack and resident of Memon Goth in Karachi. The gang of kidnappers planned how to kidnap late doctor at his residence, he said. The accused who had been arrested were identified as Zain Jhatyal, Dawood Ghiskori, Akhtar Siyal, Imdad Solangi, Azhar Ali, Farooq Leghari, Aziz Barejo and Hot Banglani. Imdad and Farooq were employed at late doctor’s clinics in Karachi and Hyderabad.

He said that a personality of Jamshoro district abetted in the kidnapping by obtaining bungalow in Abdullah Valley where the hostage was kept.

Dr Aftab Qureshi was kidnapped on May 12 in Karachi. He died in a botched rescue operation on May 30 carried out by a joint team of CPLC and AVCC.