• Ransom call in one case is likely a ‘prank’, officials say
• Two other children, gone missing from Keamari, have been recovered

KARACHI: Police investigators probing the recent kidnapping of three children in the metropolis said on Thursday that a ransom call reported in one case appeared to be a prank while no such demands had so far been made in the case of the other two children.

In the past eight days, three children have been abducted from the city and the incidents have created an environment of fear and insecurity among the citizens, and prompted Sindh chief minister and home minister to take notice of the kidnappings.

On Jan 14, Aliyan alias Ali, 5, and Ali Raza, 6, were playing outside their homes on Siddique Wahab Road in Garden West when a couple riding on a motorcycle arrived there and took them away while on Jan 7, Mohammed Sarim, 7, who had gone to a madressah for lessons near his North Karachi home, went missing and for his release, a ransom call had reportedly been made to the family, South-DIG Syed Asad Raza told Dawn.

DIG CIA Muquddus Haider while talking to Dawn on Thursday said that after the reported ransom call, the case was transferred to specialised Anti-Violence Crime Cell (AVCC) for investigation. However, the CIA head pointed out that one call was made from Saudi Arabia while another call through WhatsApp from Multan.

One such number had been used in a few other cases in which unknown caller(s) demanded ransom from the parents for their lost children. He said the suspects somehow obtained the affected families’ phone numbers and made such calls. Therefore, he hinted at the possibility that it appeared to be a fake call.

The DIG Mr Haider said though no such ransom call has been made in the kidnapping of two children from Garden area, yet they were assisting local police for their safe recovery.

AVCC SSP Aneel Haider told Dawn that the suspect who demanded ransom was deported from Saudi Arabia over his alleged criminal activities there. He said another call made from Multan had been used in ‘several’ other cases and it appeared to be a “prank call.”

SSP Haider said that he along with the team of investigators met with Sarim’s family in North Karachi, visited the crime scene and also obtained CCTV footage for investigation purposes.

Sarim’s father, Mohsin Pervez, told Dawn that the caller had demanded Rs0.5 million from them. However, he said the AVCC investigators who met with him today advised the family to ignore such calls. Mr Pervez who along with his wife also called on Governor Sindh Kamran Tessori said that the governor had informed him that the officials expected a ‘breakthrough’ in the case within a few days.

He said he had no enmity with anyone. He said the police had detained the seminary teacher of his missing son but he [Mohsin] had told the police in writing that he did not have any doubt about the teacher’s involvement in the case.

Separately, a statement issued by the Governor’s House said that the parents of Sarim had met with the governor who made phone contact with IGP Sindh Ghulam Nabi Memon and asked him to ensure recovery of the child. The governor also phoned CPLC chief Zubair Habib and asked him to utilise all available resources for recovery of the child.

Governor Tessori assured Sarim’s mother that her son would be recovered ‘very soon.’

Two children recovered

Meanwhile, two other children who had gone missing from Keamari district two days ago had been recovered safely. Minister for Home Ziaul Hassan Lanjar appreciated SSP Keamari and his team to this effect and sought further details from City SSP about the case of two children from Garden.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2025