–Parents of 23-year-old Rizwan accuse police of showing traditional lethargy in recovering son who was allegedly abducted on Aug 14
–IO blames non-functional cameras of Punjab Safe City Authority (PSCA) for zero progress in case
LAHORE: A 23-year-old youth, who went missing from Raiwind Police precincts on August 14, has still not been traced while his poor parents have appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to take notice of their agony and pain.
Rizwan Saeed, who was a hair-dresser in Garden Colony in Raiwind City area, was on his way home when he went missing. He was the eldest of nine siblings, including three brothers and six sisters.
His elderly parents, Nasreen Bibi and Abdul Majeed, are often seen holding placards outside the Central Police Office (CPO).
The incident adds up to previous evidence that children and adults are being abducted in Lahore while the police laze around.
According to Rizwan’s family, he had been running the salon for the last nine months. The family alleged that two men namely Yousaf Kala and Nadir had quarrelled with their son for establishing the salon in their area a month before he disappeared.
The missing person’s mother, 60-year-old Nasreen Bibi lamented that the police refuse to work on the case.
“We lodged a first information report (FIR) with Raiwind City police station on August 18 but the police have no clue of Rizwan’s whereabouts,” the woman told Pakistan Today.
Tears rolled down her cheeks while her elderly husband looked dejected. “I request Prime Minister Imran Khan and the police to recover my child. We are poor and helpless,” the woman cried.
The couple’s other son, Imran Saeed, who travels from Faisalabad to accompany his parents to protest outside the CPO sometimes, expressed his mistrust in the justice system and spoke of the financial pressure the matter had put on the family.
“I am the complainant in the case and am continuously pursuing it, but the progress in my brother’s case is dismal. We are poor and can’t afford heavy expenses of travelling to and from Faisalabad every other day,” he said, adding that at least Rs 40,000 expenses incurred just on their visits to various places in hopes of justice.
The complainant said he was sure that Yousaf Kala and his accomplice Nadir was involved in the abduction of his brother Rizwan. “It was 7 pm on August 14 when my brother shut down his shop and was on his way home. It has been over a month and the suspects are roaming freely. Police lodged FIR no 1626/19 against Yousaf but never made an effort to take him into custody. Neither of the two suspects have appeared before the investigation officer (IO),” he added.
On the other hand, IO Muhammad Nawaz, when questioned about the case, blamed external circumstances for the unsolved case. “We saw the CCTV footage of Punjab Safe City Authority (PSCA) wherein he was seen stepping down from the bus he was travelling in but unfortunately, the cameras installed there were not functioning properly which is why we have not traced him yet,” he said.
To another question about the arrest of the nominated accused in the FIR, he said that the suspect had secured bail before concluding the conversation with the assurance that the police “is working on the case”.