HYDERABAD: The police guard of a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) MPA shot dead an alleged armed robber on Auto Bhan Road late on Wednesday night.

The guard, Mohammad Ali Shah, said he was standing near MPA Rana Ansar’s car outside the house of a friend of the lawmaker’s son when two armed men riding a motorcycle attempted to mug the driver, Rab Nawaz, who was sitting in the vehicle. The guard further stated that the ‘robbers’ fired at them and he (the guard) also responded by firing and killing one of them on the spot. The other one managed to ride away, he added.

Hussainabad police said that the body was taken to the Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) for a post-mortem examination but the alleged robber could not be identified till Thursday evening.

In another incident, shopkeepers of Jail Road pulled down the shutters on Thursday soon after three armed robbers struck a cloth shop and deprived its owner and some customers of a big amount of money and mobile phones in broad daylight.

The victims claimed that the robbers took away around Rs200,000 and six mobile phones.

During a two-hour protest, the shopkeepers blocked the National Highway near the central jail. They ended the protest after MPA Rashid Khilji and SP Haider Raza assured them of an early arrest of the robbers and recovery of the booty.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2014