RAWALPINDI: A businessman has been arrested on the charge of helping a group of outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) extort money from traders and other wealthy people in the city.

Regional Police Officer (RPO) Omer Akhtar Hayat Laleka told mediapersons at his office here on Monday that Haji Naeem, a hosiery trader and a resident of Mohanpura locality, had also staged a kidnapping for ransom drama a couple of days ago.

The RPO said after the police tracked down the suspect, he confessed to working as an informer for the TTP.

“He used to provide the TTP group in Waziristan mobile phone numbers of wealthy people and businessmen. Later, the group members would call victims to extort money from them,” RPO Laleka said.

In some cases, SIMs (subscriber identity module) issued in Afghanistan were used by the extortionists.

The RPO said three other persons had been arrested on the charge of taking extortions.

However, except the businessman, he added, none of the alleged extortionists arrested by the police had links with any banned militant outfit or political party.

One of the arrested man belonged to Karachi but his links with any political party were not established during the investigation.

“All the three extortion cases registered with the police have been solved and the culprits arrested. However, efforts are underway to trace the culprits involved in the kidnapping for ransom of a boy from Sadiqabad.”

The RPO claimed that after solving the three cases of extortion, there was no such case pending with the police at the moment.

The teenage boy who was kidnapped from Sadiqabad was released after 70 days on April 15 when his parents paid Rs1.2 million to the kidnappers in the tribal areas.

According to sources close to the investigation, two men said to be the mastermind of the gang of extortionists were yet to be arrested. One of them belonged to Murree while the other was from Abbottabad.

In reply to a question regarding cracker attacks in the city, the RPO said these had no links with the TTP. To another question, he said security cover was being provided to political figures who were facing life threats.

The RPO said TTP leader Shahidullah Shahid had been nominated as a co-accused in the suicide bombing near the army headquarters on January 21 this year.

“Yes, the police will arrest Shahidullah Shahid as he is nominated in the case.

The government’s peace talks with Taliban will not affect the police investigation,” the RPO added.