THATTA: Police recovered a boy kidnapped 23 days ago in Lodhran, Punjab, after a raid on a secluded place along the Ran Pathani railway station near Jungshahi early on Thursday morning.

Thatta SSP Fida Hussain Mastoi told a hurriedly-called press conference at his office in Makli that Gharo and Jungshahi police raided the hideout after receiving a tip-off and recovered the 12-year-old hostage, Aijaz Ali son of Atta Mohammad Bhatti, kidnapped on July 18, and arrested his captor, Zafar Iqbal.

He said the criminal had revealed during initial interrogation that he hailed from Multan and was member of an inter-provincial gang involved in kidnapping for ransom of young children and their organ trade.

The boy told journalists that he was snatched while whiling away time in a garden in his hometown and brought to Karachi by train by three kidnappers. They boarded down at Cantt railway station and brought him to the isolated place near the railway station where they kept him hidden from public eye at gunpoint. During the travel from his hometown to Karachi he was constantly under the criminals’ watch who threatened to kill him if he raised alarm, he said.

The SSP said that he could not divulge further details for the sake of safety of other hostages who might be in the gang’s possession. The scope of the investigation had been expanded in coordination with other police stations concerned to ensure recovery of hostages and elimination of the criminals’ gang, said the officer.

He said that at least 10 to 12 more hostages could be recovered in light of information gleaned from the suspect. Two more suspects were being interrogated but their names and the information extracted from them could not be shared with media at this point as it might compromise the investigation, he said.

The freed boy was later handed over to his father who had arrived to take back his son.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2016