Tag: ransom

  • Mphil scholar shot dead by abductors inspite of paying ransom

    Mphil scholar shot dead by abductors inspite of paying ransom

    A kidnapped 22-year-old MPhil graduate, Talha Arshad, was found fatally shot in the head, despite his family allegedly having paid Rs2.5 million in ransom to his abductors. His grieving family staged a protest demonstration at Rafiq Shah Chowk against the police after placing the body on the spot.

    The victim, a resident of Mohalla Telianwala, had recently completed his MPhil from the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. On the day he went missing he left home on a motorcycle on January 17 but did not return.

    Upon a lawyer’s intervention, the police registered a kidnapping case on January 18, filed by Talha’s brother Irfan Arshad.

    The abductors had sent a video of Talha tied with a rope, through WhatsApp on January 21, demanding a ransom of Rs10 million for his release. Despite the family sending Rs2.5 million to the cryptocurrency account specified by the kidnappers, Talha was not released, reports The Express Tribune.

    However, on Wednesday, Talha’s tortured body, locked in a suitcase, was discovered in a well near an upscale neighborhood.

    Kamran Arshad, the victim’s brother, alleged that the police had acted as silent spectators when the victim’s phone was active on January 21 and 23.
    The police reportedly found the location of the deceased’s mobile phone in Bahawalnagar and Donga Bonga, initiating searches in the areas. The DPO’s spokesperson Zahid Rasool said the police were actively engaged in the matter, collaborating with the victim’s family.

    In response to protesters’ demands, the SHO was removed from the local police station and an inquiry against him initiated.

    The police’s efforts to trace the suspects were reportedly hindered as the perpetrators used VPN to conceal their location.

  • Police arrest murderer of eight-year-old child via ‘spelling mistake’

    Police arrest murderer of eight-year-old child via ‘spelling mistake’

    Indian police identified an alleged murderer, who kidnapped and murdered his eight-year-old distant cousin, through a spelling test.

    According to details, the 22-year-old accused identified as Ram Pratap Singh, allegedly kidnapped the eight-year-old boy, from his grandmother’s house. He then used a stolen phone to send a ransom note to the family demanding Rs 200,000 for the release of the child.

    In the message, he wrote: “Do lakh rupay Seeta-Pur lekar pahuchiye. Pulish ko nahi batana nahi to haatya kar denge (Reach Sitapur with Rs 2 lakh. Don’t inform the police or your son will be killed).”

    The family approached police after more than a week and registered a missing complaint after which an investigation was initiated.

    “We swiftly formed teams to trace the kidnapped boy and called back on the same number but it was switched off. The cyber-surveillance cell was roped in and we detained the subscriber, who seemed illiterate and unable to write an SMS,” the local police said.

    The investigators detained 10 suspects, including the accused, from the area on the basis of clues gathered through the area’s CCTV footage and tip-offs.

    All of them were asked by the cops to write a sentence: “Main police main bharti hona chahta hoon. Main Hardoi se Sitapur daud kar ja sakta hoon (I want a police job. I can run from Hardoi to Sitapur).”

    Singh, who made spelling mistakes in his ransom note once again repeated them by writing ‘pulish’ for police and ‘Seeta-pur’ for Sitapur, resulting in his arrest.