KARACHI: The police on Friday recovered an eight-month-old girl said to have been snatched from her mother’s arms claiming that it was not a kidnapping incident; rather, the mother of the child had handed over her daughter to someone without the family’s consent and pretended that it was a criminal act.

The police officials also brushed aside fears among Karachiites due to different reports circulating on social media about rise of children’s kidnapping in the city claiming that no child had been kidnapped over the past few weeks in any part of the city.

“The parents mainly the mothers should not panic,” said DIG South Javed Alam Odho while addressing a press conference at his office.

“There are rumours circulating on the social media. Majority of the cases of children’s kidnapping have already been resolved and no new case has been reported or emerged during recent past, neither any child was kidnapped from any school.”

Elaborating the recovery of eight-month-old Faiza, who according to her family was snatched by some people from her mother’s arms while visiting their home in Arambagh a couple of weeks ago, after tireless efforts the police traced the infant girl and recovered her from a home in Yousuf Goth and arrested a person named Imran, the police said.

“The girl was handed over to that man by her mother. The police were very much sure about the suspicious behaviour of her mother and the investigators kept it under observation. There are a few other facts which the police have come to know during the course of their investigation but we can’t share [them] right now with the media as it can affect the investigation as well as disturb the family. The girl has been handed over to her family. She is fine and the man has been taken into custody for further interrogation,” added Mr Odho.

Two ‘gangsters’ killed

Two suspected gangsters were killed in a shoot-out with police near Abul Hasan Isphahani Road on Friday, an official said.

He added that a Mobina Town police mobile was busy in routine snap checking near Abul Hasan Isphahani Road when they spotted suspicious motorcyclists and asked them to stop the two-wheeler.

“Instead of stopping, they opened fire on police and tried to speed away,” he said.

“The firing from the suspects led to reaction from the police, who returned fire as a result of which both the suspects died in the exchange of gunfire. The deceased suspects were later identified as Rehan Burmi and Masoom Babal, who were associated with one of the criminal gangs operating in Lyari.”

He said the police had also recovered two pistols, mobile phones and a motorbike from the deceased.

The bodies were handed over to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medico-legal formalities, he added.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2018