RAWALPINDI: A local trader was killed and two of his brothers were injured after they were shot at by robbers who stormed their grocery store in Quaid-i-Azam Colony Thursday night.

Sohail Azam is the second person killed in the area since Tuesday, when Naushad Khalid, a doctor, was killed in an armed robbery in his clinic in Satellite Town. On Wednesday, a money-changer was robbed of Rs5.2 million by armed men near Soan Bridge.

The most recent robbery took place just hours after Regional Police Officer (RPO) Mohammad Wisal Fakhar Sultan Raja went into a session with the city police officer, senior superintendent of police (SSP) operations, superintendent of police (SP) Potohar, SP Saddar and SP investigation to review the law and order situation in light of the recent robberies.

Quaid-i-Azam Colony resident Zohaib Azam said in his FIR that he was with his brother Kamran and his friend, Mohammad Ibrahim, on the rooftop of his house when he heard the emergency bell they had installed in the grocery store they owned on the ground floor. He said his brother Sohail had been tending to customers at the store.

He said when he looked towards the grocery store, he saw a motorcycle parked outside and heard a gunshot soon afterwards.

He said he rushed to the store with Mr Ibrahim, and heard more gunshots in the meantime. He said he found three armed men outside the store; one of the men fired directly at his brother Sohail, seriously injuring him.

Mr Azam said he attempted to overpower the armed men. One shot his brother Kamran, he said, and the other shot him in the leg before all three fled on their motorcycle.

Locals from the area moved the victims to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) – where Sohail Azam died – before police and rescue services arrived. Kamran Azam is stated to be in critical condition.

Residents of Quaid-i-Azam Colony protested against the police for failing to maintain peace in the city, following the incident. They carried placards and gathered outside Dhamial camp in the heat, demanding that the chief justice of Pakistan take notice of increasing street crime and appoint police officials purely on merit for citizens’ safety.

City Police Officer Afzal Kausar constituted police teams to arrest the suspects and increased police patrols in the city. Police said they have been provided extra resources and hoped the suspects would be apprehended soon.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2018