Juhi Chawla`s uncle freed in Pakistan after six months

Karachi, April 12: Well-known Pakistani film producer and distributor Satish Anand, an uncle of Bollywood actress Juhi Chawla, was freed by his abductors after six months in captivity for a ransom of Rs.10.6 million, media reports said Sunday.

Anand, who had served as Pakistan`s censor board chairman, was kidnapped Oct 20 last year by two unidentified gunmen while he was on his way home here. According to The News, law enforcement agencies traced the kidnappers to Pakistan`s North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and engaged in a negotiation for his release. On Saturday, officials posing as family members of the film producer delivered the ransom money to the kidnappers, who belong to a faction of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HuJI), in NWFP`s Bannu region, the report said. After safely securing Anand, the officials launched a crackdown on the group and arrested five suspects. Meanwhile, Anand is said to have been shifted to Islamabad. The HuJI group, headed by Ilyas Kashmiri, had earlier demanded a huge ransom for releasing Anand, but later settled for Rs.10.6 million. IANS