Soldier martyred in mugging incident

A soldier of the Pakistan Army lost his life, while five other citizens sustained injuries on Thursday in three separate incidents of street muggings across the city. Clifton Division SP Tauqeer Muhammad Naeem told The News that unidentified armed men intercepted a National Logistics Cell’s cash van near the Boat Basin traffic signal and opened

fire at it when its occupants tried to resist the robbery attempt.

According to Naeem, when the robbers intercepted the van, Rawesh Khan, a lance naik in the Pakistan Army, who was accompanying the van’s occupants in civvies and was martyred in the shooting, reached behind his back to pull out his weapon to deter them, but they began firing indiscriminately and then rode away.

A patrol mobile of Boat Basin police reached the site at once and gave chase to the robbers, but they managed to escape in an exchange of gunfire, SP Naeem said. The van’s occupants, Rawesh Khan, 32, Abdus Sattar, 35 and Iftikhar, 45, were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where Khan succumbed to his injuries.

Taking notice of the firing on the NLC van, Sindh Inspector General Police AD Khowaja directed District South’s SSP to submit an inquiry report and mention the steps being taken to arrest the suspects.

Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Khan Siyal also took notice of the incident and directed District South DIGP to submit a report to him immediately. Meanwhile, two other citizens were injured in robbers’ shootings near Aga Khan Park in Soldier Bazaar.

According to SHO, Rafay Tanoli said the incident took place at Diamond Shopping Mall near the park wherein muggers shot and injured 35-year Ramzan and 50-year-old Fida Ali when they resisted a snatching bid.

Tanoli added a patrol team of the Soldier Bazaar police reached the site and arrested one of the suspects. He was identified as Naushad Ali and a TT pistol was seized from him. In yet another incident, muggers also left 40-year-old Liaquat injured near Hamdard University along Northern Bypass after robbing him of his valuables.