ISLAMABAD, March 6: Six armed men broke into the house of a senior government official in Sadiqabad and looted cash and valuables worth Rs2.4 million after making his three-year-old son hostage on Sunday.

Naeem Khattak, who works with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, complained to the police that the gunmen forced their entry into his house at Block A, Affendi Colony, and grabbed his little son Abdul Ahad. After putting a pistol on his head, the culprits told the inmates to hand them over all the cash and gold otherwise the boy would be killed. He said on seeing the little boy in the custody of the gunmen, his mother started begging them to leave her loved one and take away whatever they wanted.

Two of the gunmen then kept the boy at gunpoint while their accomplices ransacked the house and collected gold ornaments weighing 50 tola and Rs200,000 in cash.

The police said the boy was playing in the lawn of the house when a white car stopped outside.

The occupants of the car got out and entered the house. They picked the boy and told the family members to gather at the lounge.

“The gunmen threatened the mother of the boy that they would kidnap him to demand a huge ransom if the gold and cash lying in the house were not handed them over.”

He said the robbers remained inside for about half an hour after which they escaped in their car with the loot.

Meanwhile, a woman was deprived of her purse by two motorbike riders in Sadiqabad on Sunday. Fareeda, a resident of G-6/2 Islamabad, in her complaint to the police said the purse contained Rs60,000 and a cellphone.

She said she along with her nephew was going to meet a relative when the bandits intercepted her car and snatched the purse.

Meanwhile, a Pakistan Muslim league (PML-N) worker was electrocuted while hanging a banner of party MNA Malik Shakeel Awan on an electric pole at Metropole Chowk in Saddar.

The victim, Tariq Masood, 22, a resident of Tipu Road, was taken to the District Headquarters Hospital where he was pronounced dead.