KARACHI: Police discovered the body of seven-year-old Mohammed Sarim in the underground water tank of his apartment building, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Central Zeeshan Shafiq Siddiqi reported on Saturday.
The police officer noted that the child’s body had been sent for postmortem, and it seemed that Sarim had accidentally fallen into the tank.
This tragic development follows Sarim’s disappearance on January 7 from North Karachi Sector 5, and an FIR was registered under Section 364-A (kidnapping or abducting a person under the age of 14) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Meanwhile, the child’s parents had previously claimed to have received a message from an international number demanding ransom.
“For the past two days, my wife has been receiving messages stating that if we want the child back, we have to pay Rs500,000,” Sarim’s father said.
SSP Investigation Central Kunwar Asif stated that a search of the building’s four water tanks had been conducted earlier, but today they were informed about the body being found in the tank.
Asif further mentioned that the incident appeared to be accidental. However, a resident, speaking to the media, disputed this claim, stating that Sarim did not fall into the tank accidentally.
The resident added that the tank had been searched previously, and it seemed the child’s body had been placed inside the tank intentionally.
Sarim’s disappearance was followed by the kidnapping of five-year-old Aliyan and six-year-old Ali Raza from the city’s Garden area, causing widespread concern among the residents.
Sindh Inspector General Police Ghulam Nabi formed a special unit for missing children, and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah directed Karachi Police to recover the children immediately and submit a report.
