Police clueless about abducted American
Salman AslamMonday, August 15, 2011
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LAHORE: Lahore police officials investigating the kidnapping of an American, Warren Weinstein, are yet to make any headway in the case.
Though four police teams are working on several possibilities and have also rounded up four security guards for questioning, they remain clueless about Weinstein, who was kidnapped from his Model Town residence on August 13, 2011.
Sources say casual attitude and lapses on the part of the police led to the faux pas in the kidnapping case of Weinstein, who could not be recovered despite passage of over 30 hours. “So far, we have no specific lead to work on,” SP Model Town Malik Awais said.
Another police officer said that motive behind the kidnapping of the American is yet to be ascertained whether he had been kidnapped for ransom or there were some other reasons. SP CIA Umar Virk said it was apparently a case of kidnapping for ransom. “We have interrogated the security guards, but no progress made so far,” he said and added that checking of vehicles had been beefed up to foil any attempt of kidnappers to shift him to somewhere else.
“Our priority is to work on the right lines to find him (Warren) and get him free safely and at the earliest,” he said and added that the kidnappers have so far not called any person related to the kidnapped American to demand ransom.
Responding to a query, Umar Virk said: “There is no breakthrough in the case, but we are constantly working on all possibilities. Our priority is to recover the abductee at any cost.” He said: “We have collected fingerprint samples from his house-cum-office in Model Town and they could also help us nail the culprits involved in the kidnapping.”
When asked about the visit of FBI officials to the crime scene, Umar denied the claim made by a private TV channel. A senior officer said the police were collecting details of the abductee’s cell-phone and land-line number to verify who had contacted him during the last few hours or days.
It was learnt that a search operation had been launched and other sensitive agencies have been engaged to help secure the release of Warren. (Adil Munir, an intern with The News, also contributed to this report.)
Agencies add: US embassy spokesman Alberto Rodriguez said they had not yet been informed about any progress in the case. “Police are investigating. We are waiting.”
Police said the American aid expert was targeted because of his nationality. Police described the abductors as Urdu-speakers, so not obviously from the Islamist militant flashpoints in the northwest, wearing Western-style shirts and trousers, according to witness testimony from one of Weinstein’s guards. Investigators have been frustrated by a lack of witnesses coming forward to say they saw him being driven off in what kind of vehicle. “They did not take away anything from the house except the man,” an official said.
Salman AslamMonday, August 15, 2011
=================================================
LAHORE: Lahore police officials investigating the kidnapping of an American, Warren Weinstein, are yet to make any headway in the case.
Though four police teams are working on several possibilities and have also rounded up four security guards for questioning, they remain clueless about Weinstein, who was kidnapped from his Model Town residence on August 13, 2011.
Sources say casual attitude and lapses on the part of the police led to the faux pas in the kidnapping case of Weinstein, who could not be recovered despite passage of over 30 hours. “So far, we have no specific lead to work on,” SP Model Town Malik Awais said.
Another police officer said that motive behind the kidnapping of the American is yet to be ascertained whether he had been kidnapped for ransom or there were some other reasons. SP CIA Umar Virk said it was apparently a case of kidnapping for ransom. “We have interrogated the security guards, but no progress made so far,” he said and added that checking of vehicles had been beefed up to foil any attempt of kidnappers to shift him to somewhere else.
“Our priority is to work on the right lines to find him (Warren) and get him free safely and at the earliest,” he said and added that the kidnappers have so far not called any person related to the kidnapped American to demand ransom.
Responding to a query, Umar Virk said: “There is no breakthrough in the case, but we are constantly working on all possibilities. Our priority is to recover the abductee at any cost.” He said: “We have collected fingerprint samples from his house-cum-office in Model Town and they could also help us nail the culprits involved in the kidnapping.”
When asked about the visit of FBI officials to the crime scene, Umar denied the claim made by a private TV channel. A senior officer said the police were collecting details of the abductee’s cell-phone and land-line number to verify who had contacted him during the last few hours or days.
It was learnt that a search operation had been launched and other sensitive agencies have been engaged to help secure the release of Warren. (Adil Munir, an intern with The News, also contributed to this report.)
Agencies add: US embassy spokesman Alberto Rodriguez said they had not yet been informed about any progress in the case. “Police are investigating. We are waiting.”
Police said the American aid expert was targeted because of his nationality. Police described the abductors as Urdu-speakers, so not obviously from the Islamist militant flashpoints in the northwest, wearing Western-style shirts and trousers, according to witness testimony from one of Weinstein’s guards. Investigators have been frustrated by a lack of witnesses coming forward to say they saw him being driven off in what kind of vehicle. “They did not take away anything from the house except the man,” an official said.
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