Robber gunned down, policeman wounded in encounter

A suspected robber was gunned down and a policeman wounded during an encounter on Tuesday. Four more suspected robbers were arrested in an injured condition, while a suspected robber arrested a day earlier in an injured condition died at the hospital.

A suspected robber was shot dead and a policeman wounded during an encounter in the Allah Bakhsh Goth area of the Ahsanabad locality. The body of the dead robber was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH), while the injured policeman was rushed to the Aga Khan University Hospital.

The dead robber is yet to be identified, while the injured policeman has been identified as Aslam, 36. A case has been registered and an investigation has been launched. Separately, four suspected robbers were arrested in an injured condition after an exchange of fire between the suspects and the police in the Bhains Colony area.

The arrested suspects were identified as Waqar; Noman, alias Nomi; Malik Nadeem and Saqib. Police also claimed to have recovered Rs1.5 million in cash, four pistols, two motorcycles and six mobile phones from their possession.

According to District Malir SSP Irfan Bahadur, the arrested gang had been involved in more than 31 cases of cash snatching. The officer said that three of their gang members were still at large. Cases against them have been registered and further investigation is under way.

Moreover, a suspected robber who was arrested in an injured condition after an encounter with the Shaheen Force in North Karachi a day earlier died during treatment at ASH in the early hours of Tuesday.

Police said he was identified as Abdur Rehman, adding that his criminal record suggests that he was also arrested in two cases of robbery by the Jauharabad and Sir Syed police two years ago.

Officials said he was injured and his accomplice identified as Muhammad Nabi was shot dead during an exchange of fire with the Shaheen Force in the Sir Syed area on Monday night when they were looting people at gunpoint. Police said that both robbers were residents of Orangi Town.

After receiving information, their family members and other relatives also reached the hospital to hold a protest against the encounter. The protesters also criticised the police. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmaker Ataullah also joined the protesters. Police then arranged a meeting between the legislator and the people who had been robbed by the suspects.

The lawmaker called off the protest after the victims of the robberies committed by the suspects informed him about the real facts, confirming that the suspects were involved in snatching their valuables.