Lahore: As if straight out of a Bollywood
flick, a Briton of Pakistani origin "masterminded" his own
abduction along with that of his British wife to extract
money from his father, police said on Sunday.
Police officials said they had received a report that
Jaima Louis William, 24, and her husband, Syed Awais
Haider, 25, were abducted at gun-point while at Gulberg in
Lahore about a week ago.
A call was subsequently made from Haider's cell phone to
his residence in Iqbal Town, demanding Rs 5 million (about USD
60,000) from his family.
The family paid Rs 200,000 before it informed police
about the abduction.
Superintendent of Police Umer Virk of the Crime
Investigation Agency told PTI that the couple had been
recovered safely and police were investigating Haider's role
in the drama.
A case has been registered against Haider and two of
his friends.
"Actually we have taken Haider and a few of his
friends into custody for masterminding the kidnapping drama.
Haider made the plan with the help of his friends to extract
money from his father," Virk said.
Haider was under the impression that his father would
seek money from his wife's father in case he failed to pay the
ransom, he said.
Virk said William was not aware of her husband's
plan.
"Haider has confessed to his crime but he is pretending
to be innocent before his wife," he said.
"We traced the abductors Haider and his friends
with the help of phone calls Haider's friends made to his
father, Haider Ali," Virk said.
The couple married about two years ago and have an
eight-month-old son. They came to Pakistan in August 2010.
"Haider had left the baby at home when he went
shopping with his wife. Interestingly, he also left his car at
home and preferred travelling by cab," Virk said.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, January 16, 2011, 16:20