KARACHI: Police claimed on Monday to have recovered a four-year-old girl, who had been missing since Aug 14, 2023, and arrested a couple accused of kidnapping the minor.

Azizabad police have arrested the couple identified as Sumair and Seema from Surjani Town while the girl, Ayesha Asghar, has been recovered.

The held couple claimed that they found the girl near the mausoleum of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah on Aug 14, 2023, and took her along without informing any authority or police. Around three months ago when her condition deteriorated, they handed over the girl to a man identified as Abdul Moiz.

Mr Moiz told the media that he was not aware that the girl was missing. When he saw her videos on social media and TV channels, he himself approached police and handed her over to the parents in the presence of Central SSP Zeeshan Shafiq Siddiqi.

The parents informed on the occasion that their daughter went missing from the mausoleum of the Quaid-i-Azam where they went to celebrate the Independence Day. They lodged a missing report at Soldier Bazar police station.

Quoting Abdul Moiz, SSP Mr Siddiqi said theheld couple had given the minor girl over the pretext that they could not take care of her and he (Moiz) did not know that she was not their daughter.

Subsequently, the held couple was handed over to Soldier Bazar police for further legal action.

The Sindh governor and home minister appreciated the Central SSP and his team for recovering the missing girl.

Remand Meanwhile, a judicial magistrate remanded the couple in police custody on Monday for further probe.

The investigation officer (IO) brought the couple before Judicial Magistrate (East) Asif Ali.

They were apprehended during a police raid in Surjani Town on Sunday.

The IO requested their 14-day physical custody, the court allowed only three days, directing the IO to submit a progress report.

An FIR was registered last year under Section 364-A (kidnapping or abducting) of the Pakistan Penal Code at Soldier Bazar police station, based on a complaint filed by the girl`s father against an unknown person in August, 2023.

The father reported that his daughter went missing during the Independence Day celebrations at Numaish Chowrangi due to overcrowding.