The main suspect involved in kidnapping a three-year-old girl in Karachi was arrested while the victim was recovered, police said on Friday.

According to a first information report (FIR) filed by the girl’s father, seen by Dawn.com, the incident occurred on July 23.

The girl went to a shop near her house and disappeared around 9pm, the FIR read, adding that the family tried to search for her but was unable to find her.

A case was registered at the Khawaja Ajmer Nagri police station under Section 364-A (kidnapping or abducting a person under the age of fourteen) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

“The police took prompt and effective action by not only recovering the girl safely, but also arresting the main suspect involved in the kidnapping,” a statement by the Central Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) spokesperson Zeeshan Shafiq Siddiqi said.

“The police team, led by Station House Officer Khawaja Ajmer Nagri Sarfaraz, conducted a successful operation within 24 hours,” it added.

The statement cited police sources, saying that the operation was completed in a “confidential and professional manner” to prevent harming the victim.

“During interrogation, the suspect revealed that his brother is in jail in the custody of Manghopir police and he kidnapped the girl to get ransom money for his bail,” the spokesperson said, adding that the suspect belonged to the girl’s family.

Further investigation was underway to unearth the facts, the statement read.

Earlier this week, police arrested a couple and their son-in-law for their alleged involvement in kidnapping a school-age child, who was found begging outside a mosque in Shah Latif Town on Monday, several months after his disappearance.

In March, a teenage girl kidnapped from Surjani was recovered from a roadside in Scheme-33 with “multiple physical injuries”.

As many as 3,364 child abuse cases were reported from across the country last year, according to a civil society report. A total of 1,204 cases were of abduction and 241 cases of missing children.

The report Cruel Numbers 2024 by Sahil was prepared based on data collected from 81 national and regional newspapers across the country.

“The objective of the report is to present the data on the situation regarding violence against children (up to 18 years) in cases of sexual abuse, abduction/kidnapping, missing children, and child marriages,” the report stated.