KARACHI, Dec 16: Two policemen were killed and three other suffered injuries in a shootout during a raid on a hideout of criminals’ gang in Hub town, a bordering area of Sindh and Balochistan provinces. The Hub police raided a bungalow where two gangs were trading bullets. The gang of Rehman Dakait attacked the members of the Arshad Pappu gang in the small hours on Thursday. The attack came in the wake of kidnapping of Wahid alias Langra, a gang member of Rehman Dakait.

Police said that Wahid, resident of Chakiwara in Lyari, was kidnapped somewhere in Karachi along with his jeep by gangsters of the Arshad Pappu group. They set on fire Wahid and his jeep. As the rival gang of Rehman Dakait got information about the death of their fellow member, they attacked the hideout of Arshad Pappu with grenades and automatic weapons. The area is more or less one kilometre from the Hub police station.

Police rushed to the spot but by then the Rehman Dakait gang members had fled but the police faced severe resistance from Arshad Pappu’s gang. Constables Ahmed Noor and Mehrullah were killed in the shootout. Three others suffered bullet injuries and one of them, identified as Abu Bakr, was shifted to Aga Khan University Hospital where his condition is stated to be serious.

Two people, stated to be affiliated with Arshad Pappu gang, were picked up by the police from the place of the shootout. They were identified as Akku and Bahadur. All other suspects, however, managed to escape.

Police said that they have seized two Kalashnikov assault rifles.