ISLAMABAD: For the last many years, traders and other people in Rawalpindi and Islamabad have been intimidated by armed groups affiliated with the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for extortion.

In many of the cases, the targeted persons had to pay a handsome amount of money to the criminals while those who ignored the threat saw their houses attacked. However, none of the extortionists has so far been traced by the police.

But in one case related to the kidnapping of two citizens for ransom, the capital police arrested seven persons and then allegedly forced the families of the kidnap victims to pardon them in exchange for their release.

The police drove all the seven men in their custody to the Bannu district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, handed them over to the agents of the kidnappers and came back without even asking for the release of the two kidnapped men.

On the direction of the Supreme Court, the Islamabad police on October 30, 2013, registered a case against its own former inspector general (IGP) Bani Amin Khan on the charges of kidnapping and helping the arrested people escape from custody.

The kidnapping case The case in which Bani Amin Khanwas booked related to the disappearance of a police inspector and a revenue department official (patwari) over three years back.

According to the police, the proscribed TTP wanted to kidnap property dealer Rana Saddig for ransom and fixed an appointment with him on December 2, 2010, on the pretext that they wanted to buy a piece of land in Fatehjang.

However, the property dealer could not make to the meeting and instead sent the police inspector, Rana Pervez Akhtar, who was his business partner, to meet the `customers`.

The inspector, while taking the customers to Fatehjang, also picked patwari Azhar Mehmood. After that, both the inspector and the patwari disappeared.

Arrest & release of suspects A few days later, the family of the patwari received a letter and SMS from unidentified people asking them to arrange Rs1million for his release.

On December 20, the Tarnol police arrested four people when they arrived at Chungi No 26 to receive the ransom money.

The same month, the Margalla police also arrested three persons, including Sibghatullah Muavia, from Vehari in connection with the case.But in early 2011 all the seven accused were released as part of a deal under which the militants agreed to free the inspector and the patwari.

The deal was struck after the police persuaded the relatives of both the kidnap victims to submit affidavits to the court pardoning the arrested men to ensure the release of the two men.But even about three years after the release of the accused, the police have no clue to the whereabouts of the kidnap victims.

SC orders judicial probe In September this year, Mohammad Bashir, the father of the patwari, ap-proached the human rights cell or the Supreme Court seeking help to trace his son.

On October 4, the apex court ordered the district and sessions judge (west), Raja Jawad Abbas Hassan, to hold a judicial inquiry into the matter.

During the proceedings, Bani Amin Khan stated that in response to a complaint lodged by the inspector`s brother Rana Sajid Habib, a kidnapping for ransom case was registered with the Margalla police in December 2010.

During the investigation, it was revealed that the two men had been kid-napped by Asmatullah Muavia`s Punjabi Taliban, he added.

Later, Qari Abdul Malik, Khurram Ali Abbasi and Sibghatullah Muavia, a brother of Asmatullah, were also arrested. He claimed that he had never directed any police officer for the release of the accused.

Mr Khan was working as DIG whenthe incident occurred and remained IGP Islamabad from 2011 to April 2013.

Tahir Alam Khan, the then SSP Islamabad, stated that the police had not arranged any compromise between the families of the kidnap victims and the accused.

He said the complainants had themselves en-tered into the deal.

Constable Tariq Mehmood stated that in his presence SI Shafiq Ahmad and SI Asjid Mehmood informed the brother of the kidnapped inspector that on the direction of DIG Bani Amin Khan a jirga, compromising then MNA Shah Abdul Aziz from Karak and Qari Qasim, would arrange the release of the two victims.

But in return, he had to pardon the four accused arrested by the Tarnol police.

As a result, the kidnapped inspector`s brother submitted an affidavit to the court which led to the release of the accused.He said he and the inspector`s brother followed the police team which took the accused to the Khojri checkpost in Bannu.

Prior to their release, the guarantor, Qari Qasim, made a telephonic contact between the accused and the kidnappers in the Bannu police station.

Rashida Pervez, the wife of the kidnapped inspector, told the judge that police had informed her that the release of her husband was possible in exchange for the release of the accused.

She said Bani Amin Khan also contacted her twice and told her that her husband would be released soon.

She said that in January 2011 police officer Gulfam Nasir told her that they were about to leave the city taking the arrested men to get the kidnap victims released.

Ms Rashida said when the accused were set free the guarantor was present in Bannu but the police neither arrested him nor asked him why the kidnap victims had not been released.

The inquiry report The judge in his inquiry report confirmed the arrest of the seven persons in connection with the case and their subsequent release against the affidavits submitted by the two complainants.

The report stated that Inspector Mohammad Shafiq and SI ShafiqAhmad persuaded the complainants to enter into a compromise with the accused and against their affidavits submitted to the courts got the seven accused released.

It added that SI Shafiq took the accused to Bannu and handed them over to Qari Qasim who drove them to Waziristan but did not bring the victims.

Surprisingly, Qari Qasim was not arrested by the police.

The capital police also changed section 6 and 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act under which the Tarnol police had booked the four arrested men in order to facilitate their release.

`No legal shelter can be provided to such a deal that may well be termed a violation of settled procedure.

After the report was submitted to the apex court, it ordered the police to register the case.

Registration of the case The Margalla police on November 30 booked Bani Amin Khan and some unidentified persons on the charges of 365 (kidnapping), 223 (escape from confinement or custody negligently suffered by public servant), 166 (public servant disobeying law with an intent to cause injury to any person) and 211 (false charge of offence made with an intent to injure) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).