Citizen abducted by cops found detained in Ferozeabad police station’s kitchen

A perturbing case of kidnapping for ransom surfaced in the city on Monday as a policeman and two of his four accomplices were arrested for abducting a citizen from his house in Defence View and demanding Rs2 million for his release.  

The two accomplices still at large are also policemen, while the two who were arrested – a man and a woman – are civilians.  The arrests came about after a judicial magistrate of District East, Asif Ahmed, conducted a raid at the Ferozeabad police station and found the abducted citizen, Asad Abbas, kept under illegal detention in the police station’s kitchen. 

The magistrate had conducted the raid on the orders of the Additional District and Sessions Judge for District East after the court had received an application, moved under Section 491 of the CrPC, by the hostage’s brother-in-law, Nasir Amin. 

The complainant narrated that Abbas was illegally arrested by some policemen on October 4. Amin had named five people – policemen Syed Furqan, Nauman and Pervez Shah, and two civilians Arif Shah and Saima – and told the court that they had later phoned Abbas’ wife to demand Rs2 million for her husband’s release.  

Jamshed Quarters SP Dr Rizwan Ahmed told The News that the three people arrested were Head Constable (HC) Pervez Shah and the two civilians, Saima and Arif Shah.

SP Ahmed said at the time of arrest HC Pervez was asked to furnish his service card and it showed that he was associated with the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) and was currently was posted at South Headquarters.

Of the two cops still at large, the SP identified one of them as Nauman Jatoi, a telephone operator at SSP East’s office. He could not recall the name of the other policeman but as per the judicial magistrate’s record the second cop yet to be arrested is named Syed Furqan. 

SP Ahmed said HC Pervez, Amir Shah and Saima had taken the abducted citizen, Asad Abbas, to the Ferozeabad police station and told the officers there that they wanted to lodge a case against him.

“They [the accused] told the officers at the station that Abbas owed them Rs7 million and was trying to swindle his way out of repayment by giving them cheques that had bounced,” said SP Ahmed.

He added that Ferozeabad police SHO Shahzad Ilyas had called him to discuss the case and informed him that Abbas had been kidnapped from his house in a police mobile.

Speaking to The News, Ferozeabad SHO Shahzad Ilyas had a similar story to share. He said the accused had brought Abbas to his station and asked for a case to be registered against him. However, there was a discrepancy in the figure Abbas apparently owed the accused as SHO Ilyas said he was told that he had to repay Rs2 million.

Baloch Colony police SHO Abdullah Bhutto told The News that Asad Abbas was kidnapped from his residence in Phase I of Defence View in a police mobile. He said Abbas’ wife had come to his police station to file a complaint but the police had registered an FIR, No. 182/17, three days later against four unidentified men on a complaint by Abbas’ brother, Wajahat Hussain.