MULTAN, Jan 1: Two alleged thieves were killed in what Khanewal police claimed a shootout near Kutcha Khuh area on the Sahiwal Road on Wednesday.

Police claimed that a mobile squad was on routine patrol duty when it spotted two trucks moving parallel to each other on the road while some people were shifting goods from one vehicle to the other.

The squad asked them to stop. But, the truckers tried to speed away. Police started chasing them.

Police claimed that the people in one of the trucks opened fire on them. The truck (KUT-708) overturned when one of its rear tyres burst as a result of police firing. The shootout, however, continued for quite some time as a result of which Sharifuddin died on the spot while Sher Muhammad succumbed to his injuries on way to hospital.

Police arrested three others, identified as Rahim, Wahid and Qadir Bakhsh. They belonged to Shikarpur district, Sindh, police said.

When contacted, duty officer at the Kutcha Khuh police station said the outlaws were stealing rice from the other truck. When asked about the other truck, he said it disappeared when police returned after the shootout.

Khanewal district police officer could not be contacted till filing this report to know how the bandits were transferring rice bags while moving speedily on the road and that why did the victim truckers prefer to escape instead of thanking police over its timely intervention.