RAWALPINDI, May 20: A mother and her son were held hostage by three armed robbers, while in another incident the wife of joint secretary finance was robbed of her jewellery here on Monday.

Sharjeel Hussain told Dawn that he, along with his mother, had arrived at his home in Gulshan-i-Iqbal after withdrawing cash from a commercial bank located at Haider Road Sadar. When he stopped the car outside his house to open the gate, three unidentified motorbike riders arrived on the scene.

“One of the gunmen held my mother, who was sitting in the car, hostage while two others threatened me and demanded the cash worth Rs683,000,” Sharjeel said, adding that the gunmen snatched the cash from his mother and escaped.

He said the robbers, while fleeing, fired gunshots apparently to keep onlookers away.

In another incident, the wife of joint secretary finance was robbed of her gold bangles and diamond rings by two gunmen while she was on her way to her in-laws in Gulzar-i-Quaid.

JS Finance Farooq Javaid Qazi told Dawn that his wife had left for her in-laws along with her daughter when two motorbike riders intercepted her near Madina CNG Station and forced her to give up gold ornaments and cash.

“The robbers used a cutter to obtain the gold bangles which my wife was wearing, causing injuries on her arms. They also snatched two diamond rings, six gold bangles and Rs6,000 and later escaped, “Mr Qazi said.

He said after failing to contact the area police, he called the regional police officer Rawalpindi, who then sent the deputy superintendent to visit the scene.

“Had the police acted promptly, the robbers would have been captured,” Javaid Qazi said.