KARACHI, Oct 13: A robbery suspect, who was wounded in an encounter with a private security guard in Landhi and later arrested by police earlier this week, escaped on Saturday from a Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre ward where he had been admitted for treatment, officials said.

Police constables Mohammad Ijaz and Hashmat Khan, who had the custody of Mahmood Khursheed, son of Mohammad Khursheed, at the JPMC were later booked and arrested for negligence and failure to apprehend the fleeing suspect.

The area police said Mahmood escaped from his bed, 32, in ward 26 of the JPMC, where he had been taken by the Landhi police for treatment on Wednesday. They said the suspect ran away between 4am and 6am when the two constables fell asleep and woke up only to find him missing.

“They searched for the suspect inside the hospital in vain,” said Inspector Ghulam Nabi Wagho, the SHO of the Saddar police station.

“The matter was then brought to the notice of the Saddar police, who in coordination with the Landhi police took custody of the two constables and later registered an FIR against them.”

Mahmood was arrested and his accomplice Nadim Deen Muhammad was killed in an exchange of fire with a private security guard in Sector 2-B of Landhi 3. The police said the two bandits on a motorbike intercepted a bread supplying van, snatched more than Rs20,000 and cellphones from the three staff members of the private company before trying to escape.

“However, people around had witnessed the incident and shouted for help when the bandits were running away,” said Landhi DSP Abdul Majeed Abbasi.

“A few youngsters tried to catch them, but the bandits fired at them. The private security guard of the van, who had hidden his pistol from the bandits, pulled it out, fired at the fleeing bandits and hit both of them.”

The wounded bandits were overpowered by people when they fell from the motorbike, were given a hiding and handed over to the police.

“The police intervened and shifted the two injured to the JPMC. Nadim died while being treated and Mahmood was said to be out of danger,” he said.

“The injured was being treated at ward 26 and we had posted policemen to keep a watch on the suspect. It was sheer negligence of the constables. They have been booked and we are looking for the absconder.”

Only last month an undertrial prisoner facing kidnap for ransom and murder charges escaped from the JPMC, where he was taken from the central prison for treatment.

The UTP, booked by the Liaquatabad and Ferozabad police stations in different cases, is still at large. In November 2010, another UTP had escaped from the same health facility, allegedly with the connivance of the two policemen posted to watch him, but both of them also fled.