NAWABSHAH, July 22: Five alleged dacoits and an assistant sub-inspector of police were killed and a man, who was kidnapped by the bandits, was injured seriously in an encounter at the Mubarakpur police post, some 15kms from Pano Aqil, on Sunday.

According to sources, the Sukkur police received information that the dacoits were moving away after kidnapping Iqbal Mahar, a milk trader, from the Noraja village in the jurisdiction of the Baiji Sharif police station.

As their car (RNE-80) reached near the Mubarakpur police post, ASI Hassan Abbas and other policemen tried to stop them by parking vehicles on the road. However, the car did not stop and rammed into the police van.

The police asked the dacoits to come out of the vehicle and surrender but they refused and started firing, as a result ASI Hassan Abbas died on the spot.

Meanwhile, police contingents from Baiji Sharif, Pano Aqil, Cantonment and other police stations reached the scene and cordoned off the area.

An encounter took place which continued for almost 20 minutes. Five dacoits were killed and the kidnapped man was injured seriously.

The dacoits were later identified as Umer Mahar and his brother Jaanu Mahar and nephew Ali Dino Mahar while two remained unidentified till the filing of the report.

The injured and the dead were taken to the Combined Military Hospital, Pano Aqil.

Sukkur DPO Mazhar Nawaz Shaikh told Dawn that police recovered one TT pistol and four Kalashnikovs from dacoits’ possession.

He claimed that Umer Mahar and Jaanu Mahar were dacoits and Umer was recently released after serving a 10-year imprisonment.

He said that the condition of the kidnapped man was serious and he was being operated upon at the CMH.