–Lahore police has failed to recover missing persons despite passage of several days
LAHORE: At least five persons, including children and a woman, were reported missing in various parts of the provincial capital despite hue and cry over police’s negligence in such matters.
It is worth mentioning here that the abductions have surfaced days after more incidents of child rape-cum-murder in Kasur district were reported.
According to details, a student of class 6, 12-year old Omar Farooq, did not return home in Johar Town after he left for school on the morning of Sept 17. The aggrieved family carried out a thorough search in different areas in vain after which they approached Johar Town police and sought their help in recovering their child.
While the police lodged a first information report (FIR) 919/19 under Section 363 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) against unknown suspects, they have failed to find any clue about the missing child’s whereabouts as yet.
“We thoroughly searched various areas of the city and asked all friends and acquaintances about Omar but nobody knows where he has gone,” the child’s father Zahid Farooq said.
“Some unknown criminals have kidnapped our beloved son. We request citizens and police to help us find him,” he said.
A cousin of the missing child, Muhammad Faisal, while responding to a question regarding the input and professionalism of the police in searching for the child said that the family was dependent on the law enforcement officers. “We can’t express our pain but police are the only hope for us and yes, they are searching,” the dejected family member said.
Further, two persons namely Furqan Ahmad and Aashir Rasheed went missing from Islampura police precinct.
The respective families told Pakistan Today that they had gone to Liberty Market to see another friend but never returned home. They lodged FIR no.1472/19 under Section 365 of the PPC against unknown kidnappers and pleaded the police for recovery of their sons.
A close relative of the family, who was reluctant to share his name due to threats and warnings from the unknown kidnappers, said, “They (the families) found their sons from Raiwind Road area. However, the abductors told us to stay mum and refrain from approaching police, otherwise, they would not leave them unhurt”.
“I’m just frightened and don’t know what to do,” he said while adding that the police must bring such culprits to justice and punish them by fulfilling their duties seriously.
Moreover, Nagina Begum and her two daughters Alishba and Fatima went missing from Gawalmandi area on Sept 17. Although an FIR was registered at the concerned police station, no progress has been made in the case.
“Alishba, Fatima and Nagina have been abducted and we are helpless,” said a relative Mazhar Abbas, adding that fruitless search efforts spanning over four days have left the family feeling dejected and scared.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Syed Mubashar Hussain, the spokesperson for Lahore DIG Operations Ashfaq Ahmad Khan, denied that the provincial capital, which is a few miles from Kasur, may also be infiltrated with rapists and murderers.
“It is not true that Lahore is plagued with the same dilemma as that of Kasur. Almost 90 per cent of children who run away return home themselves. The reality is that police have made huge successes by recovering a number of missing children in the recent few months,” he said.
“Lahore police is very active and will trace the culprits involved in heinous crimes,” he concluded.
