ISLAMABAD, April 3: An Afghan child, who had been kidnapped for ransom a week back, was found dead here on Wednesday, and the kidnapper had been apprehended, police said.

The victim, Mohammad Imran, 4, had been kidnapped from his house in G-9/4 on March 23.

His parents had approached the Margalla Police to trace his whereabouts, but were given a cold shoulder.

Later, the parents received a call demanding Rs700,000 as ransom, upon which the parents again contacted the police.

The police finally registered a case on March 26 under Section 365-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (kidnapping for ransom).

The police arrested the kidnapper, an Afghan national, on Wednesday, who had been identified as Imran`s neighbour. Imran`s mother, Malali Anwar, told Dawn that the kidnapper had, in connivance with his wife and uncle, kidnapped the child.

During the investigations, the kidnapper confessed to his crime. He said he had molested the child before murdering him.-