MUZAFFARABAD: Four suspects, involved in violent street crime in a busy area of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) capital were apprehended by the city police.

At about 11:15pm on Wednesday, the suspects - one from AJK and the rest from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa - had attempted to rob a local trader, Amir Qureshi, of cash and some valuable devices that he was carrying in a leather bag, said Station House Officer (SHO) Rashid Habib Masoodi.

The suspects, who had been keeping tabs on the trader for about a week tried to snatch the bag from him in a dark passageway off the main street but failed as Qureshi began to shout, which caused people to come to his help.

During the scuffle, one of the suspects fired three bullets at the trader due to which he got injured, the SHO said, adding even though the suspects continued firing, the trader’s brother gallantly chased them and apprehended one.

A resident of Charsadda, the suspect was then taken into police custody and his local accomplice was arrested from Tariqabad neighbourhood within an hour, he said.

The remaining two suspects were busted before noon on Thursday.

One of the subjects gave quite a tough time to the police team as he hid in a pit behind the bushes on a dangerous slope on the outskirts of the city, he said, adding, police had to set the bushes on fire to force him to come out of hiding.

The suspects were booked under various sections for attempted murder, robbery and other offences and would be produced before a magistrate on Friday for their physical remand.

The trader’s medical condition is stated to be out of danger.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2022