LAHORE: Police claimed on Saturday to have killed six alleged robbers, who entered a house in Iqbal Town and took the family hostage.

According to the police, six robbers barged into the residence of one Dr Ibad in Iqbal Town and took the family members hostage at gunpoint. They collected cash, jewellery and other valuables from the house.

However, one of the daughters of Dr Ibad, who was present on the top floor, managed to call the police helpline, informing them about the situation.

On her call, the police reached the spot and surrounded the house. On seeing the police, the robbers opened fire and attempted to escape, but the personnel retaliated and shot all of them dead, the police said.

The police claimed to have found four pistols, a rifle, a shotgun and the looted items lying near the robbers’ bodies.

They said the family members of Dr Ibad were rescued unhurt, but were traumatised by the ordeal. They praised the daughter of the house owner for her bravery and showing presence of mind by calling the police in time.

The bodies of the robbers were shifted to the city morgue for a postmortem examination.

A case has been registered against the suspects and further investigation is underway.

Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) Superintendent of Police (SP) Furqan Bilal told Dawn that the robbers went to the house in the guise of labourers on the pretext of painting the building.

Quoting the owner of the house, he said the a minor girl of the family opened the door and let them in. As soon as they entered the premises, they took all the family members hostage at gunpoint and asked them to hand over cash and other valuables to them.

He said as the family members offered resistance to the robbers, one of the daughters of the house owner, who was on the top floor, after witnessing the situation alerted the police.

The SP said on receiving the call, the police and CIA teams reached the spot, cordoned off the house and made announcements, telling the robbers to surrender. He said the robbers, however, opened fire on the police team which was retaliated, killing all the six robbers on the spot.

Quoting initial investigations, the SP said five of the suspects belonged to Vehari district and the sixth one was from Khanewal. The suspects were involved in several cases of robbery in different areas of the province, he added.

Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Usman Anwer has appreciated the CIA police and operations wing teams for conducting a successful operation against the robbers who took a family hostage in a house.

He lauded the police for responding immediately to the call made on 15 helpline and the excellent coordination and teamwork shown by the CIA and the operations wings to counter the robbers.

The IGP said despite the fierce firing by the robbers, the police team responded very actively and killed all the robbers.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2023