Police officer martyred as cops chase fleeing robbers

The additional station house officer (SHO) of the Gulistan-e-Jauhar police station was martyred on Friday morning in an exchange of fire with suspects who were trying to flee after stealing cash from a citizen within the limits of the Ferozabad police station.

The officer, 56-year-old Rahim Khan, was martyred in the Gulistan-e-Jauhar area after around-half-an-hour-long chase that began on Khalid Bin Waleed Road.

Police sources said the Ferozabad police immediately reached the scene when they received the information of a citizen being robbed on Khalid Bin Waleed Road as he got into his car after withdrawing cash from a private bank. As the police arrived there, the chase began after the suspects fled the scene in a white car.

Police across the district were informed about the incident and the Gulistan-e-Jauhar police led by additional SHO Rahim Khan started snap checking after installing a picket near the Safari Park. When police signalled a white vehicle to stop, those present inside opened fire, resulting in the additional SHO’s death.

Police said four suspects were present in the white car. As they opened fire, a bullet hit the officer who was on the front seat of a police van. After the firing, the suspects abandoned the car after some distance and escaped. According to eyewitnesses, one or two suspects were also injured after the police returned fire.

A contingent of police cordoned off the area and launched a search operation for the culprits. Confirming the incident, District East SSP Sajid Sadozai said Sub-Inspector (SI) Rahim Khan, who was serving as the additional SHO of the Gulistan-e-Jauhar police station, had embraced martyrdom in the line of duty. His body was shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

The Sindh inspector general of police (IGP) also took notice of the martyrdom of the SI and sought a detailed report from the District East SSP, directing him to arrest the culprits behind the killing of the police officer.

Multiple CCTV footage of the police encounter circulated on the electronic media and social media. It can be seen in those footage that the police tried to intercept the criminals in the Ferozabad area at around 10:22am; however, they escaped in the white car.

Police again intercepted the suspects after they signalled them to stop their car in Gulistan-e-Jauhar during snap checking at around 10:47am. Police personnel can be seen chasing the criminals and attacked by them in the CCTV footage.

After the suspects abandoned the car, police impounded it. Police said bullet marks and blood stains on the car suggested that some of the suspects were also injured during the exchange of fire; however, they had not been arrested till the filing of this story.

Police added that the suspects’ car had a fake number plate as another car having the same number was on verification found to be with its owner. Various special police teams have been formed to trace and arrest the fleeing suspects. Police officials are also looking for hospitals where the injured suspects could be admitted for medical treatment. A case has been registered and further investigations are under way.

Funeral prayers

The funeral prayers for the martyred additional SHO were offered at the Police Headquarters,

Garden.

Senior police officials including Karachi Additional IG Ghulam Nabi Memon attended the prayers and paid tributes to the martyred cop. “The police Jawans who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty to eliminate terrorism and maintain law and order situation in Karachi are the pride of the police department,” the additional IG Karachi said.

“SI Rahim Khan embraced martyrdom during an exchange of fire with the four suspects involved in the robbery incident. Hundreds of Karachi policemen have so far sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.”

The martyred officer is survived by a widow and four children. He joined the police force in 1986 and also served as the Landhi SHO.