RAWALPINDI: Police have busted a four-member gang of extortionists who had been hurling death threats on a local trader and demanding Rs3 million for the safety of his life.

Police sources said one of the accused was associated with Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB).

The extortionists were arrested when Ishtiaq Ahmed, a pharmaceutics, (deals in import of medicines from China) a resident of Sadiqabad was left with no option but to involve the police because they resorted to firing at his house on Friday, even though they (extortionists) had agreed to reduce the amount to Rs2 million, the police said.

“On Friday, the extortionists fired gunshots at Ishtiaq Ahmed’s residence and some of the bullets also hit his neighboring house, though no person was killed or injured,” the police said, adding this forced the victim to involve the police into the investigation which led to the arrest of the gang members.

Meanwhile, a man was shot and injured when he tried to overpower robbers who snatched gold jewellery from his wife at the door step of his house in Sadiqbad.

Zahid Hussain came to Magistrate Colony Sadiqabad along with his family to collect rent from his tenant.

As he parked his car, four armed men held his wife at gunpoint and forced her to give up gold jewellery she was wearing.

A female member of the family told Dawn that as Zahid tried to overpower the robbers, they fired gunshots on his legs.

However, the robbers escaped with the gold jewellery.

The injured was shifted to Benazir Bhutto Hospital where his condition was described to be stable.

Separately, two shops were looted in Ratta and Gulistan colony, police and victims said.

Fazal Hussain, who owns a grocery store in Gulistan was taken at gunpoint by four robbers who demanded cash from him.

The robbers grabbed cash from the cash box and sped off.

In a similar incident, four unidentified robbers walked into a fertilizers’ supply agency at Ratta Road and looted Rs45,000 from its owner Baqir Ahmed at gunpoint.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2016