Excise police official among three arrested for ‘ransom kidnapping’

Karachi police on Saturday claimed to have rescued a man during a raid at the office of the Excise & Taxation director general on II Chundrigar Road. They also took three suspects, including an excise official, into custody for their suspected involvement in a ransom kidnapping.

The raid was conducted in the early hours by the West Zone police in connection with rescuing a man who was allegedly abducted on Friday evening from his house in Mianwali Colony, which falls within the Pirabad police jurisdiction.

The rescued man who had allegedly been kidnapped for ransom was identified as Ali Hussain, son of Abdullah Jan. An excise official and two other men were taken into custody by the police during the raid.

FIR No. 875/21 had earlier been registered at the Pirabad police station on the complaint of Hussain’s son Kashif Afridi, who told the officials that his father had been kidnapped for ransom, claiming that he had received a demand for money by his abductors.

Afridi and his brother run a grocery and their father is a watchman. The complainant said that two vans similar to police mobiles carrying some 15 men and a woman had arrived at their doorstep on Friday evening.

He said that three of the officials in police uniforms and one in a security guard’s uniform forced entry into their house by breaking down the door, adding that some seven to eight men had been carrying sub-machine guns.

“Besides kidnapping my father, they also took jewellery, mobile phones and Rs150,000 cash from the house,” said Afridi, adding that one of the vehicles used in the raid bore the registration No. GS-7074.

“They also took the CCTV cameras and the DVR system installed at our house with them. Later that evening, at around 8pm, I received a phone call from my father’s mobile phone, demanding Rs2 million as ransom. They also warned of dire consequences if we failed to pay.”

On the other hand, the excise police claimed that Hussain was arrested after FIR No. 11/21 was registered against him under the Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order at 8pm on Friday on the complaint of excise inspector Abdur Rasool Junejo for possessing bhang.

“Ali Hussain was arrested at 5:30pm on October 1,” the excise spokesperson told The News. “He was later handed over to excise constable Jan Muhammad, who was on night guard duty, for investigation, and he had to be produced before the court on October 2 for remand.”

On October 2, excise constable Abdul Ghani informed his superiors via phone that the police had conducted a raid at the excise police station and arrested the already arrested suspect, taking him away with them without noting any entry.

No official statement, however, was issued from the Karachi police regarding the raid at the DG excise office. The Karachi police has its own specialised unit to deal with ransom kidnappings: the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC).

However, instead of the AVCC police, the Karachi police pursued the case. “The Karachi police did not follow the SOP [standard operating procedure], as they had to inform the DG excise before conducting a raid,” an excise police source said. “The Karachi police claimed to have rescued a man who is a drug peddler.”

It has also been reported that Hussain had recently played a role as a police informant in the killing of alleged drug peddler Jugno by the West Zone police, so they conducted a raid to rescue him as he was a police informant.

Though no official statement has been released by the Karachi police regarding the raid, a senior officer of the West Zone police admitted while talking to The News that they should have coordinated with the DG excise before conducting a raid.

However, he explained, the coordination could not happen because the police did not have any idea where the abducted person was being kept, and everything happened so quickly.

“Basically, this was a blind case for us. The excise police did not follow the SOP before conducting raid, as they should have informed the area police in written before conducting a raid and making the arrest,” the officer pointed out.

“Secondly, the excise police used fake registration number plates while conducting a raid in the Pirabad area. Thirdly, they also looted cash and jewellery during the raid. Fourthly, we have voice notes in which they can be heard demanding ransom from the family.”

The officer said that the police quickly responded on the FIR registered at the Pirabad police station, as it was their top priority since a man had been kidnapped, and cash and jewellery had been looted from their area.

Replying to a question about the possibility of a case being registered against the Karachi police by the excise police, the officer said that a case would be registered against the excise police instead of the Karachi police.