Rawalpindi - New Town police busted a gang involved in kidnapping children and forcing them into begging in many parts of province.
A mentally retarded child namely Darain Abbas who was abducted from Katarian was also recovered from the captivity of the gang, said Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) New Town Circle Beenish Fatima at a presser here on Saturday. SHO Police Station (PS) New Town Inspector Mirza Javed Iqbal and other members of police team were also present on the occasion.
Sharing further details, ASP Beenish Fatima said a citizen Rab Nawaz lodged complaint with officials of PS New Town that unknown man kidnapped his son Darain Abbas on 4 March 2021 near Tube Well of New Katarian. She said police registered a case and began investigation. “By utilizing all the resources and human intelligence, police managed to trace out the gang involved in kidnapping the child,” she said adding that a raid was carried out in Khushab and three persons were held on charges of kidnapping child. The abductee was also recovered safely by the police team, ASP said.
Those rounded up by police were identified as Muhammad Arshad, his wife Fareeda and Muhammad Safdar against whom case was registered.
She revealed that the troika had confessed before investigators that they had purchased the mentally retarded boy Darain from a kidnapper against Rs 250,000 and forced him to beg in Sialkot and other areas. She said police have launched manhunt to arrest other members of the gang.
In a statement, SP Rawal Division Zia Uddin Ahmed said that police have collected all substantial evidence that would be produced before the court to get the gang members punished as per law.
On the other hand, City Police Officer Athar Ismail appreciated the performance of the police team that netted notorious gang members involved in forcing children in beggary.
He said police have adopted zero tolerance policy against those involved in violence against children and women.