Three Pakistani asylum seekers in Turkey kidnapped an Indian national and sought Rs 20,00,000 from his family back in India for his safe release. This incident which took place in May isn't the lone case. In Cambodia, a Pakistani duo held two Indians hostages for three weeks, demanding ransom from their families.
The Pakistanis involved in both the cases of kidnapping for ransom in Turkey and Cambodia have been arrested. Police in Turkey said they had arrested three Pakistanis on charges of kidnapping an Indian citizen in the city of Edirne.
The Pakistanis had kidnapped Radhakrishnan who was employed at a restaurant in Istanbul. The Pakistanis lured Radhakrishnan to Edrine with a job offer and kidnapped him. They tied his hands and feet and threatened his family by sending them a video, according to reports. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs 20,00,000 from Radhakrishnan's family, based in India.
In Cambodia, the police in the capital city of Phnom Penh arrested two Pakistanis for kidnapping two Indian nationals and keeping them in illegal detention for three weeks. The Pakistanis kidnapped Mohammad Saad and Sudit Kumar on April 25, and they were freed by the police on May 16.
Both the victims had been handcuffed, beaten and blindfolded during their weeks-long confinement.
The Pakistani nationals, Sabtain Bin Nasir and Sayed Ali Hussain, had lured the Indian men for a meeting on May 23, saying they would help them in finding a place to open an Indian restaurant. The victims told police that the Pakistani suspects locked them in their room and prevented them from leaving. The kidnappers also took away the passports of Saad and Sudit.
After the abduction, the Pakistanis demanded a ransom of $10,000 each from their families, in exchange for their release. While the Pakistani kidnappers were away, the Indians shouted for help, which was heard by a staff member of the condominium they had been locked in. After the staff found them and called the police, they were freed by the police.
The recent incidents of kidnappings and other crimes by Pakistanis abroad are alarming, and such cases have seen an uptick in the recent past. In April, four Pakistani nationals were arrested in Nepal for kidnapping four Sri Lankan citizens, after luring them with job offers in Europe. The Pakistanis had charged millions of rupees from the four Sri Lankans. Four Pakistani nationals were arrested by the Kathmandu police for the crime.
In 2022, four Nepal citizens were kidnapped 'at gunpoint' from Istanbul's Taksim Square by a gang of six Pakistanis. The four Nepalese were tortured and their families back in Nepal were asked for a ransom of 10,000 Euros. Later, the police in Turkey arrested the Pakistani kidnappers from their hide-out in the adjoining Beyoglu district.
In another incident in 2021, a group of Pakistanis were arrested in Istanbul for the kidnapping of fellow Pakistanis and demanding a 50,000 Euro ransom. Incidents like these in Turkey, prompted it to tighten its visa policy for Pakistani nationals in 2022. This decision to restrict Pakistanis followed a social media backlash with hashtags like 'Pakistani Perverts' and 'Pakistani Get Out' trending on the Turkish social media.
