Panic spreads as more children go missing in Lahore

• Three-year-old girl allegedly kidnapped from Anarkali as locals in Ghaziabad catch suspected abductor ‘red-handed’, torture him badly

A three-year-old girl was kidnapped from Anarkali area while two other children abducted from different areas on Sunday have been recovered, police said Monday. The developments come as a suspected child kidnapper was caught and thrashed by a mob in the Ghaziabad neighbourhood of the city on Monday.

According to details, three-year-old girl named Jannat Hayat went shopping with her family in Anarkali when according to her parents, she suddenly disappeared. A case was lodged at Anarkali Police Station.

On the other hand, a 4-year-old child named Noor Fatima and 7-year-old Haider who were reported kidnapped on Sunday were recovered, according to the police. The recovered child Noor Fatima was handed over to parents and Haider was given in father’s custody in Defence area.

Meanwhile, ten-year-old girl who was kidnapped earlier from Mughalpura was recovered from Sindh’s Shikarpur area. Police stated that disabled Shahida was abducted around two months ago and the criminals were beggars.

Dozens of child kidnapping incidents have surfaced in Lahore in the recent past and according to the police, most of the children run away from their homes due to violence and other clashes.

Meanwhile, locals in Ghaziabad caught a suspected kidnapper “red-handed” when he was trying to abduct a child.

The angry people claimed that the suspect was trying to kidnap a child from Dhobi Ghaat Daroghawala. The suspect was accompanied by a woman too.

The mob also blocked the road and shouted slogans against law enforcers. A heavy contingent of police, led by senior police officers, reached the scene and tried to take the suspect into their custody but the enraged people refused to comply. Upon which, more police personnel had to be called in.

This is not the first incident of vigilante justice, in which people took law into their hands on suspicion of kidnapping. On the night of July 30, traffic wardens and Dolphin officials tortured a driver of Edhi ambulance on suspicion of kidnapping. The driver was transporting 12 children recovered during search operation of the police to Edhi Home Gulberg.

Task force to be formed to curb child kidnappings:

Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday presided over a high-level meeting in Lahore in order to discuss the child kidnapping issue and the overall situation of law and order.

The performance of the Child Protection Bureau was also reviewed during the meeting. The Punjab CM directed the formation of a task force in order to tackle the child kidnappings and also ordered that extra contingents be deployed at bus and railway stations, parks and other crowded areas.

The report presented to the CM about the child kidnappings stated that out of the 767 children kidnapped last year, 721 returned to their homes.

Shehbaz Sharif directed that immediate action be taken against individuals operating a private torture cell in Rahim Yar Khan whereas he also suspended Rahim Yar Khan Deputy Superintendent Police (DSP) and police station B-division Station House Officer (SHO).