Trader shot dead by robbers in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: A trader was shot dead by armed robbers in the limits of Phandu Police Station late Saturday night.

It was yet another case of violent robbery in Peshawar. The trader identified as 24-year old Ayaz, was going home from his shop when he was accosted by three armed robbers, who snatched Rs450,000 from him. He resisted the robbery bid and was subsequently shot dead. The robbers managed to escape from the scene and took away the money.

The incident is a matter of concern for the residents of the provincial capital as this is at least the third incident of its kind in the last two weeks. In an earlier incident, a person was injured in Paharipura locality while another was wounded in Peshawar Saddar when he was shot at by robbers.

A woman is also believed to have been shot dead by armed robbers in the limits of the Yakatoot Police Station when her spouse offered resistance. The incident, however, is being probed from all angles to find if the motive was robbery or something else.

There have been a series of such incidents in which the robbers open fire when they face resistance from their prey. A couple of people have been injured in such incidents in the city in the last few days.

More were injured or shot dead in other incident in the provincial capital in recent months. Though the incidents of violent street crimes have been happening in Karachi and other cities since long, Peshawar was spared until recently. The robbers used to snatch cash, cellphones and valuables before managing their escape.

However, in the last many months, some gangs have started killing and injuring people even for a few thousand rupees. Most such gang members are young people and some of them have been arrested by the police in recent months.

The new Capital City Police Officer Mohammad Ali Gandapur is facing a tough challenge to overcome the increasing street crime. He will have to discourage the corrupt elements and post competent and honest officers.

In some cases, incidents of snatching are not reported by the police to show the seniors that everything is fine in their area of jurisdiction. The public too are not reporting cases to the police regarding some of the incidents.