Viral video of Karachi couple ‘kidnapping’ children reveals they were their own kids

Days after police failed to locate two missing children in Karachi’s Garden area, investigations revealed that the viral CCTV footage showing a couple allegedly kidnapping two minors was misunderstood, the children turned out to be the couple’s own.

The CCTV footage, widely circulated on social media and news channels, showed a couple riding a motorcycle with two children seated in front.

However, after viewing the video, the victims' families stated that the children in the footage were not their own.

Police reported that efforts are ongoing to trace the motorcycle’s registration number. Multiple CCTV recordings from the area have been analysed to gather leads on the missing children.

Authorities are also interviewing eyewitnesses to strengthen their investigation and apprehend the culprits as quickly as possible.

Read More: Two more children missing in Karachi amid rising kidnapping cases

A joint operation by the Garden Police and rescue agencies is underway, involving searches of rivers, water tanks, and other areas.

According to SSP Arif Aziz, search operations are actively being conducted in various parts of Lyari, including the Lyari River and surrounding settlements. 

It has been more than a week since the disappearance of five-year-old Aliyan and six-year-old Ali Raza, but the police have failed to recover the minors, despite the availability of CCTV footage showing a woman and a man riding a motorcycle taking them away.

"Neither has anyone contacted us for ransom, nor do we have any enmity with anyone. We are exhausted from searching," Aliyan's father told a private news channel.

On the other hand, Aliyan's alleged kidnapping has "pushed his mother into severe depression, causing her to lose consciousness repeatedly," he added.

"I don't know where my child is in this harsh winter. He has not worn a jacket and socks. I don't know which oppressors picked my child," said Aliyan's mother while requesting authorities with teary eyes that "please bring my child back."

The police claimed to have arrested at least 19 suspects during a combing operation and said they had gathered evidence to find clues for recovering the two children abducted from the garden.

“During the search operation, 19 suspects were detained and shifted to a police station,” Dawn quoted a police spokesperson as saying. He said that the suspects were being interrogated.

The police also announced Rs300,000 reward for providing any information regarding the missing boys.