LAHORE: A gang of robbers is on the rampage in the city as they robbed three houses during last couple of days and injured two policemen.

Equipped with sophisticated weapons, the 14-member gang created panic in Sukh Chain Gardens, robbed houses of a Pakistani cricketer and a retired government officer in the Sundar area before breaking into a house in the PCSIR Housing Society in the Mustafa Town area. Both the housing societies are known for their security arrangements as they are guarded by scores of private guards.

A police source said a dozen of robbers were all equipped with pistols, pump-action guns and other such weapons.

Saddar Division SP Hafeezur Rehman Bugti confirmed to Dawn that the number of robbers in both housing societies was more than 12. About the robbery in the PCSIR, he said the robbers had reached the housing scheme late on Sunday and divided them into two groups.

According to the officer, a group of robbers broke into the six-kanal villa of a woman, a close relative of a senior officer of law enforcement agency, while the other group stood guard outside the house. Police responded to the emergency call and the Dolphin Squad team rushed to the site. Policemen were unaware of the armed men taking shelter in the dark in the nearby fields of the Punjab University. As soon as the suspects noticed the policemen, they opened fire and injured two of them. On hearing the gunfire, the criminals inside the house were alarmed and the whole gang escaped. Two Dolphin Squad personnel were injured during the crossfire while one of them received five bullets. Later, police launched a massive search in the fields but in vain.

In another incident, the robbers entered the Sukh Chain Gardens by removing the slabs from the boundary wall.

The officer said the robbers, divided into groups, made entry into the house of Pakistani former cricketer Aizaz Cheema and deprived him and his family of valuables, including cash and ornaments and mobile phones.

Later, they robbed the house of a retired government officer and escaped through the walls they came from.

To a question, SP Bugti said was premature to say whether the same gang was involved in all the incidents. However, he added, police have got fingerprints of one of the robbers involved in the PCSIR Housing Society incident and they matched with the record of criminals in the Crime Record Office (CRO). He hoped the robbery incident in the PCSIR Housing Society would be traced.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2021