ISLAMABAD, May 22: Police on Tuesday freed a city businessman from his kidnappers unhurt but found the victim in great trauma from his 12-day ordeal.

Police said Mohammad Yousuf, 55, owner of Islamabad’s famous bookstore Mr Books, had bruises all over his body from the beatings given by his kidnappers who also pulled out his nails to press their demand for Rs100 million in ransom.

“Such torture is unusual for criminals in kidnapping cases. Maybe they wanted to frighten him to death, and through him his family,” a police officer told Dawn.

It was all the more surprising behaviour as the four kidnappers included a young girl, Guldasta Bibi. She had coaxed Mr Yousuf out of his bookstore in Super Market on May 9 and delivered him to the gang at a house on Kuri Road.

The police raided the house after tracing the cellphone calls for ransom but the kidnappers had moved away from there meanwhile.

Their second raid on the new hideout on Tipu Road, near Rawalpindi Medical College, on Tuesday, however, succeeded in freeing Mr Yousuf and arresting all the four kidnappers.

The police said the Tipu Road house was hired a week back and its owner lived in Rawat. The police approached the owner and with the help of his wife entered the house.

Earlier, when the owner’s wife asked the tenants to allow a plumber to replace the water motor, they did not agree.

However, on Tuesday when she came to the house with SP City circle Mohammad Ilyas disguised as a plumber, they let them in. After entering the house, the SP overpowered one of the kidnappers along with the girl who were guarding the victim.

Later, a police team also reached the house and took the two in their custody. They found the kidnap victim lying on a bed.

He was shifted to hospital for medical assistance. The police also arrested two other kidnapers who came to the house later.

The police said during the captivity, the victim was also administrated some sedatives. According to the police, the gang was involved in other kidnapping-for-ransom cases and its ring leader, HIH, was a proclaimed offender in connection with a murder case registered in Haripur.

The gang with the help of the girl, GB, a native of Mansehra, used to trap people and kidnapped them for ransom.