How Pakistanis are kidnapping Indians for ransom, from Turkey to Cambodia

Three Pakistani asylum seekers in Turkey kidnapped an Indian citizen and sought Rs 20 lakh from his family back in India for his safe release. This incident from earlier in May isn’t the lone case. In Cambodia, a Pakistani duo held two Indians hostages for three weeks, demanding ransom from their families.

The Pakistanis involved in both the cases of kidnapping for ransom in Turkey and Cambodia have been arrested.

Police in Turkey on Sunday (May 20) said that they had arrested three Pakistanis on charges of kidnapping an Indian citizen in the city of Edirne, reported Khaama news portal.

The Pakistanis had kidnapped Radhakrishnan who was employed to do the dishes at a restaurant in Istanbul.

The Pakistanis lured Radhakrishnan to the western city of Edrine with a job offer and kidnapped him.

They tied his hands and feet, and threatened his family by sending them a video, according to Khaama. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs 20 lakh from Radhakrishnan’s family, based in India.

Police recovered pistols from the Pakistani kidnappers during their raid.

PAKISTANI DUO KIDNAP, TORTURE TWO INDIANS IN CAMBODIA

In Cambodia, the police in the capital city of Phnom Penh arrested two Pakistani men for kidnapping two Indian nationals and keeping them in illegal detention for three weeks.

The Pakistanis kidnapped Mohammad Saad and Sudit Kumar on April 25, and they were freed by the police on May 16.

Both the victims had been handcuffed, beaten and blindfolded during their weeks-long confinement.

The Pakistani nationals, Sabtain Bin Nasir and Sayed Ali Hussain, had lured the Indian men for a meeting on May 23, saying they would help them in finding a place to open an Indian restaurant, reported The Khamer Times.

The victims told police that the Pakistani suspects locked them in their room and prevented them from leaving on May 25. The kidnappers also took away the passports of Saad and Sudit.

After the abduction, the Pakistanis demanded a ransom of $10,000 each from their families, a total of $20,000, in exchange for their release.

It was only on June 17, when the three Pakistanis were away, that the Indians could be freed.

While the Pakistani kidnappers were away, the Indian victims shouted for help, which was heard by a staff member of the condominium they had been locked in, according to The Khamer Times report.

After the staff found them and called the police, both the victims were taken to the Sen Sok District Police Inspectorate.

RECENT SURGE IN KIDNAPPINGS BY PAKISTANIS ABROAD

The recent incidents of kidnappings and other crimes by Pakistanis abroad are alarming, and such cases have seen an uptick in the recent past.

In April, four Pakistani nationals were arrested in Nepal for kidnapping four Sri Lankan citizens, after luring them to send them to Europe for jobs. The Pakistanis had charged millions of rupees from the four Sri Lankans.

Four Pakistani nationals were arrested by the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigative Department of Nepal Police.

In 2022, four Nepal citizens were kidnapped ‘at gunpoint’ from Istanbul’s Taksim Square by a gang of six Pakistanis. The four Nepalese were tortured and their families back in Nepal were asked for a ransom of 10,000 Euros.

Later, the police in Turkey arrested the Pakistani kidnappers from their hide-out in the adjoining Beyoglu district.

In another incident from 2021, a group of Pakistani men were arrested in Istanbul for the kidnapping of fellow Pakistanis and demanding a 50,000 Euro ransom.

Incidents like these in Turkey, prompted it to tighten its visa policy for Pakistani nationals in 2022. This decision to restrict Pakistanis followed a social media backlash with hashtags like ‘Pakistani Perverts’ and ‘Pakistani Get Out’ trending on the Turkish social media.