CHAKWAL: A 15-year-old boy was kidnapped for ransom and later murdered after his father failed to pay Rs15 million.

The police have arrested two suspects, who, according to the police, have confessed to the murder.

Police said Adnan, 15, was at home after the seminary he was studying at was closed because of the lockdown. On Tuesday, he visited the village mosque but did not return home.

His father contacted the police the following day and told them that after Adnan didn’t return home until evening, a search for him was launched.

In an FIR, he said late in the evening he received a call from one of the suspects, who said Adnan had been abducted by them.

A police official said the alleged kidnappers demanded Rs1.5 million in ransom from the victim’s father, a retired soldier who makes a living from farming on a small portion of land.

When he could not come up with the money, the kidnappers killed the victim by cutting his wrists, the official said. They then set the body on fire.

Police said the body of the victim was not burnt beyond recognition. The main suspect was arrested Wednesday evening by tracing the mobile number used to make the ransom call, which he made from his own mobile phone.

Police found the body in a wooded area after the suspect confessed. The police official said the victim’s father had identified him.

He said the victim was abducted by the main suspect, who was later joined by an accomplice.

Another police official added that the suspects killed the boy because they thought he would expose them if they let him go. Neither of the suspects has a previous criminal record.

Police took the body to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital on Wednesday, where an autopsy was conducted.

Man shoots wife dead

A 28-year-old woman was shot dead allegedly by her husband over a domestic dispute in Siral Village located in the jurisdiction of Dhudial police station.

Quoting the deceased’s mother from her first information report (FIR), police said the suspect locked himself in his room after quarreling with his wife on Friday. She called her brother-in-law to the couple’s house so he would listen but the suspect did not open the door even after hisbrother arrived.

Talking to Dawn, SHO Akhtar Zaman, who is investigating the case, said: “Fearing that the suspect might commit suicide, his younger brother tried to break the door open with an axe which made a huge cut in the door. After getting further enraged, the suspect took a 12-bore gun and opened fire through that cut. His wife was standing in front of the door who suffered fatal bullet injuries and died on the spot.”

According to the police, the couple got married seven years ago and had a four-year-old son. The suspect had returned from abroad a few months back where he was working.

“Domestic disputes over petty issues like pressing clothes and cooking food untimely, had been going on between the couple,” a police official told Dawn. Police have registered a case and also arrested him.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2020