HYDERABAD, Oct 8: The civil judge and judicial magistrate-X of Hyderabad on Monday remanded Ms Maria Bengali and her husband Rafique Bengali in police custody for three days.

The husband and wife were reportedly involved in kidnapping a three-day-old baby Dua from Bhittai Hospital in Latifabad on Aug 19. Sources said that police had arrested the couple from Karachi on Sunday night and produced them on Monday. The other accused in the case, Ms Safia, Ms Jamila and Rafique Punjabi had already been remanded to jail custody.

The main accused Safia had confessed in her recorded statement that after kidnapping Dua she had sold her to Maria. Police finally succeeded in arresting Maria after about two months ago but there was no clue as yaet to the kidnapped baby.

APPEAL: A villager appealed to authorities on Monday to order recovery of his unmarried sister, Rabia, 18, who was kidnapped more than two months ago near Tando Adam.

Abdul Waheed Magsi of Jan Mohammad Magsi village said at a news conference at the press club that eight armed persons stopped him near Baba Munna flour mill on July 11 when he was taking his sister to a hospital in Tando Adam in a donkey-cart and kidnapped her.

He said that he and his relatives went to Tando Adam police station to register an FIR but the police refused to register it and instead advised them to contact the influential persons of the area to get her recovered.Tando Adam police finally registered an FIR on Sept 16 and arrested Iqbal Hajano, Sikandar Magsi, Ghulam Qadir and Shafi Mohammad when all their attempts to find her failed. But Rabia there was no clue as yet to Rabia, he said.

Mr Magsi said that the kidnappers were demanding Rs250,000 ransom for his sister’s release and threatened to kill her if the amount was not paid. Her sister’s life was in grave danger therefore he appealed to authorities to order her early recovery.