Suspect shot dead, constable wounded in encounter

A suspected street criminal was shot dead and a police constable was wounded during an exchange of fire in the Surjani Town neighbourhood on Saturday.

Officials said the encounter took place in Khuda Ki Basti, which falls within the jurisdiction of the Surjani Town police station. They said policemen on routine patrol tried to intercept two suspects on a motorbike.

However, they added, the suspects opened fire on the police and tried to escape, and resultantly, a police constable, namely 27-year-old Mansoor, was wounded. Officials said police returned fire and killed one of the suspects, but the other one managed to escape under the cover of fire.

Police said the casualties were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH), where the dead suspect was identified as 25-year-old Naeem Yaqoob. Officials said the record of the deceased revealed that he had been a habitual criminal. They also claimed recovering a pistol from Yaqoob.

Three arrested

Police arrested a suspected robber in an injured condition following his and his alleged accomplice’s attempt to escape after injuring a citizen named Dilawar Bahadur over resisting a bid to mug him near the Punjab bus stand.

Sachal police officials said the injured citizen and suspect were taken to the ASH. They said two suspects had been trying to escape after injuring the citizen when policemen on routine patrol arrived on the scene and arrested one of them after injuring him in a shoot-out, but the other one managed to escape. Two more suspects were arrested in an injured condition after an exchange of fire with the police in Hangora Goth, which falls within the jurisdiction of the SITE Super Highway Industrial Area police station.

Officials said the injured suspects were identified as Sanaullah and Amir Hussain. They said police had seized the suspects’ weapons and impounded their motorbike.