KARACHI: A traffic policeman and a roadside vendor were gunned down in the SITE area on Saturday, police said.

DIG-South Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that Constable Khuda Bux, 55, was on duty at Shershah Chowk, Baldia Traffic Section-2, when he stopped two men riding a motorcycle for checking.

Quoting witnesses, the DIG said that when the constable came closer they snatched his 9mm pistol and tried to speed away. However, the constable chased them and a scuffle ensued when he tried to overpower one of them. The assailants opened indiscriminate fire from the same 9mm pistol and rode away.

The policeman suffered two bullet wounds in the neck and chest and was shifted to the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, where he died during treatment.

A roadside vendor, later identified as Ghousullah, also sustained a bullet wound and died, the police said.

Investigators found four spent bullet casings from the scene of crime.

The DIG said the attackers escaped from Gulbai towards Dalda Chowk in the SITE area.

He said that the investigators found that the slain policeman intercepted the pillion riders for checking. It seemed that the suspects were not carrying relevant documents and a scuffle broke out between them when the officer tried to issue a challan. The suspect snatched the pistol and shot him, he added.

He said that the CCTV footage from the scene of crime was being secured.

The slain policeman was a resident of Lyari. The vendor originally hailed from Afghanistan.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2024