KARACHI, June 19: Five suspects were gunned down by police in what was claimed to be “an early morning encounter” in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) area on Sunday. No policeman suffered any injury during the shootout which lasted about half an hour.

TPO Clifton Imran Shaukat said that a police mobile belonging to the Gizri police station spotted some suspects scaling the wall of a bungalow in Phase VII, DHA. When the mobile stopped near the house, the suspects opened fire on it. Police retaliated forcing the suspects to flee into a nearby under-construction house.

The police mobile called for reinforcements and Inspector Bahauddin Babar and Inspector Naeem Khan alias Sanatta, members of the anti-street crime cell Clifton Town, also arrived there.

The two inspectors took part in the encounter in which none of the suspects could be captured.

“Two of the suspects were killed inside the house while three were killed outside,” TPO Imran said, and added that a sixth accomplice managed to escape in the car in which they had arrived.

TPO Imran said the suspects had scaled the wall of the house of a retired wing commander in Khyaban-i-Rizwan. The residents of the house and people residing nearby called police on helpline 15 informing them that heavy firing was going on there.

Following the encounter, police cordoned off the area and started searching for more suspects.

Police took all five bodies to the JPMC for completing legal formalities. Later, three of the suspects were identified as Waqif Shah alias Baba, Abdus Salam alias Pappu and Qaiser alias Nasir.

Waqif was wanted in three FIRs registered against him at Jamshed Quarters. He was also wanted for murder in an FIR at the Mangopir police station. Qaiser was an accomplice of the two inmates who had died in the lockup of the Gizri police station a few months back.

Police recovered a Kalashnikov, four TT pistols and a cell phone from their possession.