KARACHI, Feb 1: A member of a robbers’ gang was killed in a police encounter near the PN Shifa Hospital but ringleader Arshad Pappu and his brother escaped late Wednesday night.

A heavy contingent of police surrounded a shantytown adjacent to the PN Shifa Hospital and an encounter ensued.

One of the robbers, identified as Nadeem, was killed on the spot. Police claimed that Arshad Pappu received a bullet in his upper arm. His brother Bilal, however, snatched a motorcycle from a man and sped away.

Lyari Town Police Officer Omar Shahid said the police chased Arshad’s car and intercepted it near the hospital, where a shootout began. Arshad and his brother intercepted a motorcyclist and rode off into the narrow lanes of the shantytown. However, an accomplice of theirs ran towards a street. Police chased him and during a shootout, the suspect received gunshots and died.

He said the killed suspect, Nadeem, was playing an active role in Pappu’s gang in making ransom calls and collecting the ransom amount. Nadeem was also involved in a number of cases of extortion from businessmen and other heinous crime.

Arshad Pappu and his rival gang of Rehman Dakait had been active for the past few years especially in Lyari, where many people had fallen prey to the gang-war between the two groups.