AHIWAL: Saddar police failed to recover a 13-year-old labourer allegedly kidnapped by brick kiln owners after his family demanded payment for their work at Chak 41/12-L of tehsil Chichwatni.

The victim, Ali Murad, son of Zafar, was allegedly abducted two weeks back. However, Saddar SHO Muddasir Ghaffar told Dawn that this was not a bonded labour kidnap case but a fabricated one.

Parveen Bibi, the mother of the boy who also works as a brick kiln labourer, told Dawn that police had neither arrested three nominated suspects nor recovered her son.

Saddar police registered the kidnap case against Hashmat Rehmani, Abdul Latif Rehmani and their manager Dr Zafar on Oct 12 on Parveen’s complaint.

The Rehmanis, residents of Block 9, Chichawatni City, along with their manager Dr Zafar, ran a brick kiln at Chak 41/12-L. Hashmat had contracted Parveen and her husband Zafar to produce 100,000 bricks at a rate of Rs1,200 per thousand bricks. As a part of the deal, Zafar was to work as a watchman also against a salary of Rs32,000 while their 13-year-old son, Ali Murad, was to work as a domestic labourer for Rs10,000 at Hashmat’s house.

The family completed the brick-making task over the past six months. However, it demanded the payment and salaries, the owners did not pay the amount despite the passage of five months.

The family demanded wages but instead of payment, the kiln owners kidnapped Murad on Aug 29. Police registered a case on an order by the Lahore High Court, Multan Bench.

The SHO claimed Hashmat’s eldest son was using Parveen’s son to settle a financial dispute with his father.

However, police could complete the investigation and close the case.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2024