People need not panic, Bhatkal child kidnapping case purely of family's personal enmity: SP confirms
Top cop urged people to not create panic on social media and co-operate with cops in such cases
Bhatkal: Uttara Kannada Superintendent of Police Dr. Suman D. Pennekar on Monday assured the people of Bhatkal that there was no need to panic after the sensational kidnapping case of a kid on Saturday and added that the case was purely of personal enmity.
The district police chief on Monday called a press conference at her office in Karwar and confirmed that the child was abducted due to the personal enmity of his father. She further confirmed that the maternal uncle of the child was the mastermind of the crime and that he had some final transactions with the father of the child to resolve.
“The accused, identified as Enayatullah Ishaqi, is based in Saudi Arabia. He had few unresolved financial transactions with the father of the abducted child, to create pressure on the father to pay his dues, the accused conspired the crime.” The SP said during the press conference.
“Five police teams were formed to investigate the case. The child has been rescued, he was found at Calangute Beach in Goa. We have arrested one person in the case. He has been identified as Anees, a resident of Bhatkal.” She further said.
She also urged people to not trigger panic on social media during such cases and to co-operate with people.
“A social media stir was created following the crime and people were worried about their kids and were hesitant of sending their kids out of their homes. There is no need to panic as this was purely a case of family’s personal enmity.” She added.
On Saturday, a child was abducted from the Bunder Road area in the town. The CCTV footage of the abduction was then widely shared across social media platforms creating a state of panic amongst locals.
In the video, the abductors were seen bundling the child in a van before making their way out of the town limits. The kid was then found at Calangute Beach in Goa.
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Explosive device kills 13, injures 38 on bus in southwestern Colombia as violence persists
Bogota (Colombia) (PTI): An explosive device killed 13 people travelling on a bus in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, an attack the country's army chief described as a “terrorist act" that also left at least 38 injured as violence linked to drug trafficking in the region escalates.
Octavio Guzman, the governor of the region of Cauca, said on X that the device was set off while the bus was travelling along the Panamerican Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. Five children were among the injured, Cauca Health Secretary Carolina Camargo told Noticias Caracol, a TV news program.
Gen. Hugo Lopez, commander of Colombia's Armed Forces, told a news conference that it was a “terrorist act" and blamed the network of a man known as “Ivan Mordisco” — one of Colombia's most wanted figures — and the Jaime Martínez faction. Both are dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that operate in the region.
Neither Ivan Mordisco nor the Jaime Martínez faction abide by the peace agreement signed with the state in 2016.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack on X.
“Those who carried out the attack and killed seven civilians — and wounded 17 others — in Cajibío — many of them Indigenous people — are terrorists, fascists, and drug traffickers,” he wrote.
The attack is the latest in a spate of explosions that have attempted to target public infrastructure. At least 26 incidents have taken place in the past two days in southwestern Colombia, which Lopez said have only affected civilians.
They included a shooting at a police station in the rural area of Jamundi, and an attack on a Civil Aviation radar facility in El Tambo, where authorities took down three explosives-laden drones earlier on Saturday. No one was hurt.
On Friday, two vehicles rigged with explosives were detonated near military units in Cali and Palmira, causing material damage.
The escalation of violence in that region — a territory contested by illegal armed groups linked to drug trafficking — prompted the mobilisation of high-ranking officials on Saturday. Led by Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez, the delegation that includes regional governors and local authorities, was meeting in Palmira when the deadly explosion occurred.
“These criminals seek to instil fear, but we will respond with firmness,” Sanchez said on X.
Meanwhile, Francisca Toro, governor of Valle del Cauca, has called upon the national government to provide “immediate support.” In a message on X, Toro called for a reinforcement of public security forces, enhanced intelligence operations and “decisive actions” against crime in the face of a “terrorist-level escalation.”
According to authorities, Cauca and Valle del Cauca serve as a critical hub for illicit activities of illegal armed groups vying for control over sea and river access routes leading to the port of Buenaventura — a key transit point used to traffic drugs to Central America and Europe.
The government has also offered a reward of more than 1 million dollars for information leading to the capture of “Marlon,” who is identified as the leader of the region's dissident group. On Friday, local authorities offered more than USD 14,000 for information leading to the identification and location of those behind the attacks in Cali and Palmira.
