KHARIAN- Unidentified kidnappers killed a primary class student after the family failed to pay Rs 5 million ransom to the accused here on Saturday. According to details, unknown kidnappers abducted 12-year-old Muhammad Murtaza, a class-111 student, when he went to purchase some sweets from a nearby shop. Later, when the parents failed to find the child, they submitted an application to the city police about the missing of their child.
Sources said the kidnappers contacted the family on phone and demanded Rs 5 million ransom for the release of the child within three days.
Meanwhile, the police started investigation and traced location of the kidnappers’ call near Mohallah Dhama. However, the kidnappers strangled Murtaza and threw his sack-packed body near a well in Mehr Mohallah.
On Saturday morning passersby spotted the sack-packed body and informed the police who along with the parents rushed to the scene. Later, the police took the body to a trauma centre in Lalamusa and, later, shifted it to THQ Hospital Kharian for autopsy.
Meanwhile, the news of murder of the abducted child spread like a jungle fire, prompting the traders to shut down the main bazaar and grain market. They also blocked Main Bazaar Road and GT Road for more than two hours.
Activists and local leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, PPP and other political parties also joined the protesters at GT Road. They condemned the incident and demanded the government trace the perpetrators and make them an example for others. They also chanted slogans against the poor performance of the police and flayed the government’s failure to protect the lives and property of the citizens.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif took notice of the gruesome murder and sought a report from the police, directing them to arrest the accused immediately and bring them to task.