Suspect killed, policeman wounded in encounter

A suspected street criminal was killed and a policeman wounded during an alleged encounter that took place near Abbas Town on Abul Hassan Ispahani Road within the limits of the Sacchal police station on Tuesday.

Police said the encounter took place when two suspects on a motorcycle were trying to flee after mugging a citizen who came of a private bank’s ATM booth after withdrawing cash. As the citizen shouted after being mugged, police personnel deputed at a nearby police post tried to intercept the suspects, upon which one of the suspects opened fire on them. As a result, a police constable, Azeemul Hassan, was wounded.

In retaliation, the cops also fired at the suspects, killing one of them on the spot. The other suspect, however, managed to flee.

The injured cop was rushed to a hospital while the body of the suspect was moved to a morgue for want of identification. Police also seized a motorcycle, mobile phones and cash from the body. A case has been registered and investigations are under way.

CTD registers case

The Counter-Terrorism Department of the Sindh police has registered a case against two unidentified motorcyclists for attacking and injuring a traffic police officer in Karachi’s Malir locality.

The FIR has been lodged under sections 324, 394/34 and 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act against the attackers. On Monday, a traffic police officer was wounded in a gun attack in Malir. Police said 45-year-old Sub-Inspector Mukhtiar Mushtaq is posted at the Drigh Road traffic police post and resides in Malir.

The injured police officer, in his recorded statement in the FIR, stated that after completing his duty, he was near his home when one of the two men, both clad in Shalwar Kameez, intercepted his two-wheeler, put a gun on his forehead, and snatched his official pistol. The suspect then attempted to shoot the cop dead.

The assailant snatched the traffic cop’s official weapon and escaped from the scene. The injured cop was taken to a private hospital, where doctors termed his condition out of danger. The investigators are trying to get CCTV camera footage to aid them in tracing and arresting the suspects. Taking notice of the incident, Sindh police chief Mushtaq Mahar has sought a report from the District Malir SSP.

Police said it seemed that the suspects wanted only to snatch the official weapon from the traffic police officer, and it was an alarming situation that criminals in Karachi were snatching weapons from police officers to later use them in other criminal activities.

Police investigators are also investigating any possible link between the Malir incident and the incidents of police target killings in the recent months in which the culprits took away the weapons after targeting the cops.