KARACHI: A passer-by travelling in a rickshaw was shot dead, another wounded while two alleged robbers were arrested in wounded condition in an encounter on Sharea Faisal on Saturday morning, officials said.

Karachi-East SSP Dr Samiullah Soomro told Dawn recently that incidents of street crimes on Sharea Faisal had increased. He said people arriving from the airport, particularly those arriving from abroad, were being looted by robbers who presented themselves as officials of the counterterrorism department and the Special Branch of police.

Mr Soomro said that at around 6.30am, a police party intercepted three ‘robbers’ clad in police uniforms and travelling in a car with a fake number plate (BCP-211). As the police party motioned them to stop, they sped up.

The police opened fire on the vehicle’s tyres and punctured it near the COD Bridge. However, the robbers managed to drag the car with burst tyres close to the PAF Base where they abandoned the vehicle and took a rickshaw hostage by firing upon it. As a result, rickshaw driver Abdul Rauf and his friend Maqsood sustained bullet wounds fired by robbers.

The robbers tried to escape away in the rickshaw.

In the meantime, they were intercepted near the Fazaia Degree college after a hot pursuit in which two suspects identified as Ali and Babar were arrested in wounded condition while their third accomplice identified as Arfeen managed to escape.

The wounded rickshaw occupant Maqsood was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where he succumbed to his wounds, said the SSP East.

The both wounded suspects were admitted for treatment.

The JPMC additional police surgeon, Dr Sheeraz Ali Khowaja, told Dawn that victim Maqsood sustained two bullet wounds on his chest and thigh. The victim’s heirs took away his body without allowing doctors to fulfil medico-legal formalities, he added.

He said that the condition of one injured suspect was critical.

The relatives of the deceased, Maqsood, protested at the hospital and claimed that it was a ‘targeted killing’.

However, the SSP denied these allegations saying that the man was killed by robbers who wanted to forcibly take away the rickshaw to other side of the road in their bid to flee.

The senior officer added that the arrested robbers had ‘confessed’ to their involvement in 35 to 40 robberies mostly targeting people arriving from the Karachi airport and travelling on Sharea Faisal or going to Gulistan-i-Jauhar, etc, of East district and Yousuf Plaza in district Central.

The suspects were involved in robberies since past four months and mostly targeted the road users between 3am and 4am.

They wore police uniforms and used to stop passengers coming from airport by presenting themselves as officials of the police counterterrorism department and the Special Branch.

The arrested suspects belonged to Lahore, revealed the officer.

The police officer claimed to have seized one Toyota corolla car, police uniforms, walkie-talkie set, a 30-bore pistol with 30 rounds and one submachine gun rifle with rounds.

“The police party was working on this gang for over a month and officers in plain clothes with all mobiles of Gulshan division were engaged to intercept and arrest this notorious gang,” said the SSP East.

Meanwhile DIG East Sultan Ali Khowaja said that investigation was under way into the incident and if any negligence was found, the responsible police party would be taken to task.

IGP’s request

Sindh IGP A. D. Khowaja taking notice of the ‘negative’ media coverage of the Sharea Faisal encounter, urged the media and the public not to put pressure on police over ‘genuine action’.

In a statement titled “my humble request to all friends,” Mr Khowaja said “please don’t pressurise police officials on genuine actions”.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2018