KARACHI, March 6: Police investigators have identified nearly half a dozen suspects involved in the last week ‘abduction attempt’ in the parking area of a shopping mall in Clifton, it emerged on Wednesday.

The news of the kidnap bid aired by several private TV channels attracted the governor’s intervention who asked the police authorities to investigate it thoroughly.

Officials said that the city police authorities following some leads had approached their counterparts in Lahore after a clue found from initial investigations suggested that the key suspect owned a house in the city as well.

While raids were being conducted, none of them had been arrested yet, the officials added.

“It was a kind of abduction attempt, involving firing that left a woman and a private security guard wounded,” said Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) chief Ahmed Chinoy.

“Statements of all the victims have been recorded and we have reason to believe that the incident was the result of a personal issue and not a kidnapping for ransom case.”

The investigators had identified five suspects, including a woman, with the help of the footage recorded by closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, Mr Chinoy added.

The prime suspect, he said, owned a house in Lahore as well and raids were also being conducted by the respective police.

The police investigators shared the initial findings, which indicated that three men in the parking area of Dolmen City Mall called someone after finding a woman, her six-year-old daughter and her mother approaching their car. Just a few minutes later, another car raced into the parking area. It was driven by a young man accompanied by a woman.

They along with the three men who had called them intercepted the family before the latter could reach their car. The family members were forcibly pushed into the cars by the abductors. Finding themselves trapped, the women shouted for help attracting the attention of private security guards and passers-by around.

“The mall’s security administration reacted promptly and closed the exit and entry of the car park,” said a police official. “The suspects reacting violently fired at one of the guards and at one of the women who had been shouting for help. Both sustained minor wounds. The situation, however, slipped out of their hand due to panic and witnesses who helped the abducted women to get off the car and run away.”

Abandoning their car, the ‘scared’ suspects escaped on foot and snatched another car on the main road to speed away, the official said.

He added that the car used by the suspects was later found to have been snatched in Lyari three months ago.

“However, some important documents belonging to the suspects were found in the car.”

Meanwhile, the police also came into contact with the family and through their phone calls record arrived at the conclusion that the two sides knew each other very well, the official said.

“The family is reluctant to share more information about the incident but we are very confident about tracking down and arresting the suspects that will ultimately expose their motive for this attempt,” he added.