LAHORE: Muzaffargarh police on Thursday recovered a trader, who had been kidnapped allegedly by Katcha area dacoits from Tehsil Alipur on Oct 3.

However, three other herders kidnapped by the gangsters on Oct 9, were not recovered yet.

Shahid, a trader of Kundai, was kidnapped in broad daylight from the bazaar allegedly by Katcha area Jhabail gangsters including Zaffar alias Zaffari Jhabail, Ghuman Jhabail, Ghulam Qadri alias Gumni Gopang, and 15 to 16 others. The gang members were heavily armed and approached Shahid’s shop and took him and two motorcycles away.

On Thursday, police conducted an operation in Katcha area of Alipur tehsil and recovered Shahid safely and also arrested a member of the gang Gumni Gopang.

Alipur DSP Chaudhry Azhar was leading the operation. The police also destroyed the safe havens of the dacoits in riverine area.

Muzaffargarh District Police Officer (DPO) Syed Ghazanfar Shah directed the teams to continue operation.

Last week, the gangsters also kidnapped three herders Junaid Abbas, Mashooq Ali and Rasheed Ahmad, who were herding their goats at village Sarki on Oct 9. The herders were kidnapped by Zaffari Jhabail and Gumni Gopang along with 16 unidentified accomplices.

In July, more than 30 heavily armed members of multiple gangs stormed the Langarwah area of Alipur tehsil in Muzaffargarh district and snatched 260 buffaloes from locals. The gang members pushed the cattle into the Indus and relocated them to a nearby forest known as Zakheera.

Later, after a 12-day stand-off, the police recovered 100 lifted buffaloes when the members of the dacoit gangs surrendered after negotiations.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2025