LAHORE: Five gunmen struck four families in two houses in a housing society adjacent to the Elite Police Training School on Badian Road early on Tuesday, looting cash, jewellery and a car in a three and a half hours looting spree.

Another gang comprising 10 to 15 robbers also looted cash and valuables worth millions from three houses in the same police station’s jurisdiction in early hours.

Police authorities suspended Hayer Station House Officer Sub-Inspector Asghar Ali from service after the strikes.

Residents say at least six robbery incidents have taken place in Abu Turab Housing Society that is adjacent to the heavily-guarded elite training school. They allege police patrolling in the area is sparsely done.

Police said the gunmen first entered the house of businessman Muhammad Zubair around 1:30am and looted cash and jewellery. Then, they targeted the houses of LDA officer Rao Zahid Zafar and his two brothers and took away cash and jewellery worth hundreds of thousands and their car. Police found the car abandoned in Kamahan.

Azhar Bhatti, who is secretary of the society, says he foiled a robbery in his house on Dec 10. He says robbers started targeting their society in 2012 by striking the houses of Azam Rehman (twice) and Chauhdry Munir Ahmad within a week.

He said victims with the help of sniffer dogs helped police trace the suspects at a nearby land owned by a Zob-based renowned constructor who employed Pathans labourers. Bhatti claimed police took a few suspects into custody and sent them to jail.

He said one of the prime suspects named Ahmad Khan, an employee of the constructor, fled the scene and later pressured the victim families to withdraw case against his two arrested relatives.

Bhatti said that some gunmen looted the house of Pir Manzoor in the same colony and a nearby farmhouse around two months ago. Police took four suspects into custody with the help of sniffer dogs. Two of the suspects were challaned by police.

He said that on Dec 10, some robbers tried to sneak into his house, but he got up forcing the intruders to flee the scene. He said he also used sniffer dogs which led the police to the farmhouse of the contractor.

He said locals believed that a 'Pathan’ gang was striking their society and its adjacent localities again and again.

He said the robbers dodged the security guards manning society’s gates.

Bhatti, who is exporter, says on the one hand taxpayers are deprived of police security, on the other the government provides four protocol vehicles to the political secretary (who belongs to the constituency) to the chief minister.

A senior police official said police registered separate cases and began investigation into a series of incidents.

He said the SHO was suspended for failing to control crime in his area. He said two separate gangs were involved in five robberies and one gang looted all houses in Abu Turab Society.

The official said a search operation was being launched in the entire area.he said the Hayer police station created in March 2013 was still ill-equipped.

In an unrelated incident, three masked robbers entered the readymade garments outlet of Junaid Jamshaid on Link Road in Model Town, held manager and staff at gunpoint and looted Rs500,000. Police seized CCTV footages for identification of the suspects.