September 27, 2003	Saturday	Rajab 29, 1424

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HANGU, Sept 26: The police killed an alleged outlaw and injured two others in an encounter, five hours after a highway robbery on the Kohat-Hangu road on Friday, in which two people were killed and one injured.

District Police Officer Mohammad Ghaniur Rehman said at a news  conference the alleged leader of a highwaymen’s gang, Phool Badsha, son  of Murid Badsha , was killed in the encounter in Samana forests and this three accomplices, Wahab Gul, Irfan Gul and Mohammed Naseer were arrested. He said Wahab Gul and Irfan Gul were arrested. He said one of the accused had escaped.

He said the police seized four kalashnikovs and a 7mm rifle.

He claimed that the group was involved in the highway robbery. He said the gang was wanted in different cases.

Two persons were killed and one sustained injuries when some armed men attacked a passenger bus on the Kohat road.

Eyewitnesses said that an unidentified man flagged down a Peshawar-bound coach (ADB-417), coming from Naryab, northwest of Hangu near Kotgai village on Friday morning.

As the driver stopped the bus, a group of armed men, who were hiding behind the bushes, came out and rushed towards the coach. They tried to pull the driver out of the bus. This resulted in a scuffle between the highwaymen and passengers after which the former began firing at the latter.

The driver, Mohammad Ismail and eight-year-old Jasim, son of Mohammad Rehman, a resident of Naryab died on the spot while one of the victims’ brother Shah Mahmood received bullet injuries. He was rushed to Peshawar for treatment.

District police officials said that four suspects were taken into custody and an FIR was registered against them.

Meanwhile coach drivers blocked the Kohat-Thall road to protest against the incident.

President of the Flying Coach Association Haider Gul, while condemning the incident, demanded that the government must arrest the killers within the next four days, otherwise the association would observe a strike.