CPLC reputation at stake as Rangers ‘raid’ Chinoy’s house

Karachi
An early morning “visit” by Rangers to Citizens-Police Liaison Committee chief Ahmed Chinoy’s house on Tuesday spread rumours of the latter’s possible involvement in a kidnapping for ransom case, compelling him to clarify his position in the evening.
Addressing a press conference at the CPLC office in the Governor’s House, Chinoy denied the rumours that the Rangers Special Task Force (RSTF) had raided his residence, claiming that the paramilitary officials had come to him seeking information gathered by the CPLC about the kidnapping of one Laraib Muhammad Ali.
“Someone is spreading baseless rumours and feeding fabricated news to the media. No raid was conducted at my residence. RSTF officials sought information regarding the kidnap victim, who was rescued by the Rangers a few hours earlier.”
However, no clarification was provided by the paramilitary force despite continuous media speculation. The force only released a brief press release stating that the RSTF had rescued the 24-year-old victim from Indus Plaza in Sohrab Goth.
According to the statement, Ali was abducted from Site Area a couple of days ago and the kidnappers had demanded Rs2 million for releasing him.
The kidnap victim said that in the wee hours of Tuesday his abductors had left the house where he was being kept, following which he escaped and sought help from a Rangers mobile.
His father told the media that the abductors had released him in Machhar Colony and escaped, following which he approached the Rangers.
The father said Ali was kidnapped by four men at gunpoint from North Karachi, adding that the abductors had released him even though they had received no ransom.
The RSTF’s visit to Chinoy’s house resulted in widespread speculations in the media; even political parties, including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, condemned the Rangers for their alleged raid. “After the Rangers’ visit, I went to the Rangers headquarters and met DG Maj Gen Bilal Akbar and other officials to share with them whatever information I had about the kidnapping,” said Chinoy.
He also denied media reports that the Rangers had confiscated money from his residence. He said the reason of the RSTF’s early morning visit was due to the sensitivity of the kidnapping issue.
Responding to a question, he said neither does the CPLC engage in any contact with kidnappers nor does it negotiate the victims’ release.
Replying to another query, he said there was no lack of coordination between different law enforcement agencies, including the CPLC, police and Rangers, working on kidnapping for ransom cases.
Altaf condemns ‘raid’
Expressing sympathy with the Memon community after the alleged Rangers raid at the CPLC chief’s house, MQM chief Altaf Hussain assured complete support to the community if they were to stage a protest demonstration.
The MQM strongly reacted to the “biased attitude of the law enforcement agencies towards the Urdu-speaking community”.
The party asked the authorities to take the matter seriously because “certain quarters want to crush the community”.
Hussain invited the attention of the chief of army staff and other senior officials about the sacrifices rendered by the Memon community since the inception of Pakistan. He said history proved that the Urdu-speaking community had always supported the nation in all crises, but “the discriminatory attitude towards the community is extremely regrettable”.
The MQM chief claimed that according to the Rangers, Chinoy had links with kidnapping for ransom groups.
He said the CPLC chief had helped rescue kidnap victims and reunite them with their families, adding that “the Rangers’ allegations were highly condemnable”.
Hussain said that instead of recognising Chinoy’s services, the paramilitary force was making false accusations against him.
He asked the leadership of the armed forces if the Urdu-speaking community would ever be recognised as Pakistanis.
“The reminiscence of the 1992 operations is still fresh in our minds,” he said. He said the “discriminatory attitude of the Rangers with the CPLC chief” was akin to “bias with the entire Urdu-speaking community”.
— Shamim Bano also contributed to this report