JHANG, Jan 24: The mutilated body of a nine year old, kidnapped for ransom on Jan 1, from Mohalla Chandanwala, Jhang Sadar was found on Wednesday evening.

The body of Abid Mumtaz was in a jute bag left in a sugarcane field near Mile 5 on the Gojra Road.

Mumtaz Husain, who worked in Saudi Arabia, had shifted recently to Pakistan and started living in Mohalla Chandanwala. His son, Abid Mumtaz, who studied at a primary school, had mysteriously gone missing on Jan 1.

The parents and relatives looked everywhere for the child but found no clue until Jan 7 when an envelope containing an audio cassette and a letter was thrown in Mumtaz’s house from the street. The cassette carried a message from the child imploring his father to pay the ransom. It said the kidnappers were not treating him well and would kill him if their demand was not met.

The letter, signed ostensibly by one Sher Khan of Mardan, said if the money was not arranged, the child would be killed. However, it mentioned no amount or time.

A couple of days later the family received another letter in the same handwriting, by mail. It set the ransom at Rs6.5 million. The parents were advised to raise a green flag on the house once the money was available.

The matter was reported to the police. The parents also arranged the money and gave the stipulated signal. However, they were not contacted again.

The body found in the sugarcane field on Wednesday was identified at the district headquarters hospital by the child’s mother. It was handed over to the family after an autopsy which indicated that the death was caused by strangulation.