KARACHI: A suspected robber was shot dead and two passers-by were wounded when armed citizens resorted to firing to foil a robbery attempt at the Nazimabad underpass on Friday morning, police said.

Rizvia Society SHO Zubair Nawaz told Dawn that two muggers were looting a motorcyclist at the Nazimabad underpass when four citizens riding two motorcycles emerged there. They spotted the muggers and after covering a short distance, they opened fire on them.

As a result, one suspect, later identified as Arsalan Qureshi, 30, was killed. However, their bullets also hit the robbery victim Abdul Qadeer, 40, and passer-by Ayan Salam, 30, while the other suspect managed to escape.

The SHO said the citizens who shot dead the suspected robber ‘apologised’ to the wounded passers-by before disappearing. He said that investigators had collected 15 spent bullet casings fired from a 9mm pistol from the scene.

Qadeer was shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre while the other wounded passerby, Ayan, was taken to a private hospital for treatment. The officer said the condition of the both wounded was stated to be out of danger.

‘A hotspot for robberies’

The SHO said that the Nazimabad underpass had become a hotspot of street crime as there was no electricity and CCTV cameras.

He opined that robberies could be controlled to a large extent if the authorities concerned made arrangements for functional street lights at the underpass.

Meanwhile, a suspected robber was shot dead and another wounded by the firing of a private security guard in Federal B. Industrial Area on Friday.

Area SHO Shahid Baloch told Dawn that at around 6:15am, two suspects barged into a factory in Block-22. However, security guard Rasool Mohammed spotted them and opened fire, resulting in the killing of one suspect, identified as Abdul Rehman, 28, and injuries to his accomplice Asim Khan, 22.

Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2024