Karachi Police on Saturday admitted that the 10-year old girl who was shot dead during a police encounter with robbers in Defence on August 13, was killed by police fire.

Speaking at a press conference, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Javed Alam Odho confirmed that it was a bullet fired by a policeman that led to the unintentional death of 10-year-old Amal and revealed that action has been taken against the policemen involved in the encounter.

The night of the incident, a police party which was on patrol was informed by a couple of families that at least two armed men in a rickshaw were intercepting passersby and snatching their valuables at gunpoint.

“After some efforts, the police spotted two of the bandits [in Akhtar Colony]. As our mobile van approached them, one of them fired shots at us and the situation sparked an exchange of gunfire," a police official told the media while adding that one of the bandits was killed and the other ran away.

However, when the guns fell silent after a few minutes, the girl — who was passing by the area in a car along with her family — was also found dead.

The DIG regretted the loss of an innocent life but added that the police had to shoot to kill the robber, otherwise, the suspect might have gunned down the policeman in question.

The senior official disclosed that he has requested the authorities concerned to change the standard issue weapon to one other than the AK-47 rifle as this weapon usually carried by policemen is highly dangerous.

He said that the inquiry into the case has been completed and on the basis of the inquiry report, he has ordered the lodging of a First Information Report (FIR) against the policeman so further legal action can be taken.