LAHORE, Aug 25: Gunmen shot and killed two jewellers in a Rs4.2 million robbery on Lawrence Road on Monday.

Khalid Mahmood told the police his son Abid, 36, had been running a jewellery workshop in Suha Bazaar, Rang Mahal, and a shop in Al-Madina Market in Ichhra for many years.

Abid was carrying 5,800 grams of gold worth Rs4.2 million to his shop. He asked a fellow jeweller, Atiq, 30, to accompany him.

They hired a rickshaw and were on their way when two motorcyclists intercepted them. They put up resistance and the gunmen opened fire on them. The gunmen drove away with the gold without being interrupted by any policemen who used to be deployed on roads nearby. A wireless message, too, was radioed but to no avail.

Both the injured men were rushed to the Mayo Hospital where they were pronounced dead.

Abid is survived by a wife and two children and Atiq had been married five months ago. Their bodies were sent to the city mortuary.

A large number of jewellers thronged the mortuary and held a protest. They chanted slogans against the police.

Meanwhile, the city police chief set up three teams to trace the criminals.

He claimed that the sketches of the gunmen were drawn with the eyewitnesses’ accounts.

arrested: Police claimed on Monday to have arrested 11 members of two alleged gangs of robbers.

Model Town police claimed to have caught eight members of the Goongi gang and recovered six stolen vehicles worth Rs3.8 million.

The police claimed the robbers had been operating in Lahore, its outskirts and other parts of the Punjab and stealing trucks and wagons only.

Ring leader Ghulam Nabi alias Goongi was apprehended by the police in a raid conducted on a tip off. He led to the arrest of his accomplices Nasir, Yasin, Akbar, Ghulam Yasin, Manzoor Ahmad, Shaukat and Aslam.

Three stolen trucks and as many wagons were recovered from their possession besides weapons and bullets.

Nawankot police claimed the arrest of three gangsters involved in snatching purses and jewellery from women.

Claiming that the arrested robbers have so far confessed to having committed 16 crimes, the police said the gangsters were arrested during a routine police patrol from Dholanwal main bazaar. Two pistols and a stolen motorcycle were recovered from their possession, the police claimed.

Identified as Rana Shahid, Iftikhar Faqi and Irfan Younus, the alleged robbers have been operating in main markets in Allama Iqbal Town, Samanabad, Gulshan-i-Ravi, Millat Park and other parts of the city.