VC kidnapping case: Too hot for civilians to handle

posted in dawn


Authorities have handed over the case of kidnapping of the vice-chancellor of the Kohat University of Science and Technology to the military due to its sensitive nature, sources said.

The military has blamed Taliban commander Tariq Afridi for kidnapping vice-chancellor Dr Lutfullah Kakakhel.

According to the military authorities controlling Darra Adamkhel from where the vice-chancellor was kidnapped, the victim was first taken to Matani and then shifted to the Ghiljo area in upper Orakzai Agency.

“We are not 100 per cent sure as yet about his whereabouts, but are investigating the case from all angles to ascertain the real cause behind the kidnapping of the VC, whose director administration and driver were not taken away by the armed men. If the purpose of kidnapping was to put pressure on the government for release of the arrested militants or ransom, the director, who was accompanying the VC at the time of the incident, would also have been kidnapped. But surprisingly, only the VC was taken away along with the official vehicle,” military sources said.

Police sources, however, claim the vice-chancellor is in the custody of a criminal gang belonging to the Matani area of Peshawar. They, too, are surprised why only the vice-chancellor was kidnapped.

So far, the vice-chancellor’s family or law-enforcement agencies have not been contacted by the kidnappers.

The vice-chancellor was kidnapped on Nov 6 from the Akhorwal area of Darra Adamkhel while he was going to Peshawar from Kohat.

Meanwhile, teachers and students of the Kohat University of Science and Technology on Thursday called upon the government to expedite efforts for safe recovery of the vice-chancellor, APP reports.

Speaking at a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club, they warned of launching a province-wide movement if the vice-chancellor was not safely recovered.