Islamabad: Minor boy kidnapped for ransom found dead

Islamabad :A four-year-old, kidnapped for ransom, was found dead in a house at Bhara Kahu here on Tuesday, the police said.

According to police, the boy was allegedly kidnapped by the first cousin of the father of the boy for ransom.

The minor was suffocated to death as he was locked in a cupboard for two days.

The body of the minor – Umar Rathore – was handed over to his heirs after post-mortem.

DIG (Operations) Waqaruddin Syed, taking stern action on the incident, served notices to the police officials engaged in the investigation of the case on their poor performance.

Mukhtar Rathore, resident of Dhoke Jilani near Noor Masjid, Bhara Kahu, lodged a complaint with the Bhara Kahu Police Station on December 21 that his four-year-old son, Umar Rathor, disappeared from street at about 4 pm when he was playing in front of his house. The complainant requested the police to search every vehicle leaving Islamabad to ensure that his son could not be transported out of the town.

However, the Bhara Kahu police, taking it non-serious as usual, just informed their immediate boss instead to taking instantaneous actions on the complaint.

However, the DIG (Operations), upon receiving information, constituted five teams to investigate on different aspects, including a team headed by SP (Investigation) of CIA that widened the investigation and rounded up various people of the area for interrogation which led the CIA to a close relative of the Rathore family, consequently, the police arrested Hamza and his aide Aftab on concrete evidences.

“Hamza was first cousin of Mukhtar Rathore, father of the victim who managed to kidnap his nephew for ransom along with his four aides,” the police claimed.

During the interrogation, Hamza confessing his crime disclosed that he planned to kidnap his nephew for ransom as his family was well off and able to pay ransom as much he demanded. He told the investigators that he planned and got help from his close friends including Aftab and picked the boy when he was playing in front of his house and took him to a friend’s house and confined him there.

The police, quoting the accused, claimed that the gangsters tortured the minor when he cried late night, adding that marks of torture were found on different parts of his body.

A top police officer told this correspondent that the minor was tied with ropes and locked in a cupboard of a room in the house they got on rent. “The minor was wearing a brown jacket when he was locked in the closet but that night the temperature was freezing,” the officer said adding that the suspects heavily intoxicated the boy.

The sources told this scribe that Aftab was first accused who was arrested on scientific evidences who later disclosed the names of three other accused including Hamza who was arrested later.

The police team reached the house on the information and recovered the body of the minor from the cupboard tied with ropes.

The police have registered the case on the complaint of Mukhtar Rathore under section 363-A PPC and sent teams to various areas to arrest the two remaining suspects who are at large.