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Three Pakistani men denied in the Court of First Instance on Sunday the charges of kidnapping a compatriot from Al Qusais by forcing him inside their car and then locking him up as a blackmail attempt to force him into giving away a plot of land he owns in his home country.
The three, together with two runaway accomplices, allegedly kidnapped the complainant and kept him for few hours with them in a room in Sharjah before handing him over to Abu Dhabi police on the charge of breaching the Foreigners' Residency and Entry Law.
Also read: Four jailed for filming, kidnapping woman in Dubai
The three accused are also on trial for stealing the man's mobile phone and Dh3,000 in cash.
The complainant, a 25-year-old Pakistani, said that the incident happened at 1:45 pm on April 11 when he was in front of a restaurant in Al Nahda, Al Qusais.
"Two cars stopped near me and five men stepped out. They all surrounded me and I felt they wanted to do me wrong so I screamed," he said in the investigation.
Also read: Duo jailed for kidnapping, robbing tourist
They made him ride in the back seat of a car and two men sat next to him.
"They blindfolded me and searched in my shirt's pockets and slapped me. They took my mobile phone and stole Dh3,000 from me," he said.
They took him to a room in Sharjah where the accused had dinner and then told him that they would hand him over to Abu Dhabi police because he was overstaying with an expired visa.
At around 1 am the next day, he was driven blindfolded to Al Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, where he was handed over to the CID officers. "I was booked on that charge and sentenced to two-months in jail and deportation," he told the prosecutor.
Also read: Man caught on video trying to kidnap girl, arrested
The motive behind the kidnap, as per his statement to the investigators, was to put pressure on his parents so as to cede a plot of land, which is located near a land belonging to one of the kidnappers.
They told his father that he was with them to force him into relinquishing his property.
A police officer said they were informed about the kidnap incident at 4:15 pm that day. "The man, who reported it, said he heard a loud screaming and then witnessed several men forcing someone in their car and driving to an unknown destination," the officer said.
Al Qusais police launched a probe and later learned that the kidnap victim was held by Abu Dhabi police at Al Musafah Industrial area.
Dubai police received the victim from his detention on May 1.
The police arrested two of the men shortly later after summoning them to the police centre. The court will hand down a verdict on November 6.
mary@khaleejtimes.com
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