November 01, 2006	Wednesday	Shawwal 8, 1427

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RAWALPINDI, Oct 31: One robber was shot dead on Tuesday while another one captured by police, and their two accomplices escaped during a shoot-out between the police and robber’s gang who committed 13 robberies since morning.

The robbers were lucky for twelve times but they could not succeed in their 13th attempt in which they kidnapped Saleh Muhammad, a GHQ employee from outside a mosque and robbed him of Rs4000, wrist watch and a cellphone and then let him go.

Saleh Muhammad picked up courage to call RA Bazar police from a public call office and reported whole story.

“On getting the phone call, the SHO inspector Ibrar Satti set out to catch the culprits who were desperately wanted by the police and finally he got them near the police station. The SHO smashed his car into the robber’s vehicle which panicked them,” the DPO said.

DPO Saud Aziz said the robbers got out of their vehicle and opened fire on the police which resulted in the encounter and the killing of one of the robbers who was later identified as Liaquat belonging to Haripur and arrest of his associate Muhammad Niaz. Whereas, their two accomplices, Riaz and Jabran who also belonged to Haripur, disappeared from the scene during the encounter.

The DPO said that police raiding parties have been hunting for the escapees. It was surprising that the four member gang of robbers started looting rampage and robbed 13 people of their cash, cellphones and jewellery since they left their hometown Haripur in a rented car on Tuesday morning. But nobody including the motorway and highway police intercepted them.

Out of the 13 robberies, two were committed in the RA Bazar police area where they were finally smashed by the police.

District Police Officer, Rawalpindi Saud Aziz was jubilant over the smashing of the robbers’s gang who had become a challenge for the Pindi police.

DPO Saud Aziz said that Rs150,000 in cash, ten cellphones, eight wrist watches looted by the culprits and the illegal weapons used by them have also been seized by the police. The car used by the robbers have also been impounded by the police.

The DPO said the arrested culprit had been challaned by the Pirwadhai, Haripur and Abbotabad police several times and was wanted by the Pindi police.