BAHAWALNAGAR: The district police claimed to have busted a honey-trap gang allegedly involved in the kidnapping, torture, extortion and murder of teenagers by misusing TikTok profiles of female university students and arrested three of its members.

The investigation team told Dawn that 19-year-old Muhammad Umar of Chak Madrassa was lured and later killed by the gang. The investigation led to the arrest of Ali Ahmed, a resident of Chak 193/9-L, who is believed to be the ringleader.

The gang reportedly used the TikTok IDs of various university girls to lure young victims.

Investigators said the suspects first gained the trust of these students and then misused their social media identities.

Ali Ahmed allegedly employed this tactic using the TikTok ID of student Anam Nadeem to target Umar in early July 2024.

On July 20, Umar left home under the pretext of meeting friends and never returned. His family filed a missing person`s report on July 24.

Police said Umar had been lured to Haseeb Town on July 22, where he was kidnapped by gang members Kamran and Salman on Ahmed`s instructions.

After turning off Umar`s mobile phone several kilometres from the abduction site, Ahmed travelled to Ghotki with the victim`s phone to give an impression that Umar had gone to Sindh. He made multiple calls using Umar`s phone over two days, and then returned toSahiwal on July 24.

To give the impression that he was kidnapped by Katcha gangsters, Ahmed staged a scene. He placed tree branches in a room, stripped and chained Umar, and subjected him to brutal torture while filming the act. After recording the footage, he shot Umar in the head and killed him. That same evening, Umar`s body was placed in a sack and dumped into the Lower Bari Doab Canal from the KFC bridge in Sahiwal.

Afewdayslater,Ahmed returned to Ghotki and used Umar`s phone to demand a Rs20 million ransom from the victim`s father. Though the father agreed to pay Rs5 million, disagreements over the payment method disrupted the plan. To intimidate him, Ahmed sent videos of Umar`s torture.

Police said that around this time, the gang, along with another student, Ayesha Ramzan, was arrested in Ghotki for kidnapping another youth.

When the news of Ayesha`s arrest reached Bushra, another student and mutual friend of both Ayesha and Anam, and a resident of Umar`s locality, she informed the local police through her father.

This tip-off helped the police shift focus from their earlier assumption of Katcha involvement.

The investigation team soon arrested Ali Ahmed, Kamran and Salman.

During the arrest, Umar`s shoes and a USB drive containing footage of his torture were recovered.

Police said Anam Nadeem`s TikTok ID was used without her knowledge, and she has not been charged in the case.