GUJRAT: Four suspects, three of them in police custody, were killed and three were injured in alleged encounters in various districts of central and south Punjab on Tuesday.

Three suspects were killed during two encounters in the Wazirabad and Noshehra Virkan areas.

A spokesman for Gujranwala police said that two suspects, Atif and Kamran Shahzad, were wanted by Lahore and Gujranwala police in 120 cases of heinous nature.

Gakhar Mandi police had arrested them.

Both the suspects were in police custody on physical remand and a police team was taking them to a place near Wazirabad city for the recovery when four unidentified suspects attacked the police. They freed both the arrested suspects from police custody. However, police retaliated and continued to chase them.

Three suspects were in police custody

When the firing stopped, police found the bodies of two suspects who were freed from custody. The police said that the suspects were shot dead by their own accomplices. Constable Umar Hayat also sustained bullet injuries during the encounter.

The assailants fled the scene and Wazirabad city police registered a case against the suspects.

In another incident near Noshehra Virkan, suspect Amir Basheer who was wanted in 30 cases fled the police custody. He was later killed by the firing of his own accomplices.

The deceased suspect was involved in the drug cases.

BAHAWALPUR: The Crime Control Department (CCD) killed a robbery suspect near Ramaan Phatak in the suburbs of Bahawalpur city within the limits of Sammasatta Police Station.

According to CCD officials, they were deployed near Ramaan Phatak when they spotted a motorcycle with three riders coming on main Bahawalpur-Ahmedpur East highways from Ahmedpur East side. When CCD officials’ team challenged the motorcyclists, they opened fire on them and took shelter in the nearby forest area, leaving their motorcycle by the roadside. This led to exchange of firing from both sides.

Constable Muhammad Shakil was hit by the suspects firing but due to his bullet-proof jacket, he remained unhurt. After the firing was stopped, one of three dacoits was found killed by the firing of ‘his own accomplices’, who escaped to the forest area.

The deceased suspect was later identified as Rehmat, a resident of Basti Bhedwan, Qatal-Umara Mor, Mauza Dera Izzat, Bahawalpur.

A pistol and motorcycle were recovered from his possession.

When the police record was scrutinized, Rehmat was found involved in 26 cases of robbery, burglary and car lifting. The CCD Police Station registered a case against fleeing suspects.

TOBA TEK SINGH: Two suspects were arrested in an injured condition after an encounter with Faisalabad Saddar police. Police claimed a call was received that four suspects had snatched cash and mobile phone from a citizen and they had fled towards Jorraywala Canal bridge.

SHO Muhammad Ali along with his team headed towards the bridge and near the minor canal outside the locality of Green Orchard, four persons on two motorcycles started firing on seeing the police. They entered the nearby fields and continued the firing.

The police also opened fire in self-defense and after sometime, when the firing stopped, two suspects were found injured. They were injured by the firing of their companions who managed to escape, according to the police story.

A stolen motorcycle, a mobile phone and cash were also recovered from the possession of the suspects. The injured suspects were sent to the hospital and they were identified as Irfan and Saddam, residents of Chak 208-RB who were involved in dozens of robberies.

In another encounter in Faisalabad involving Thikriwala police, a suspect was arrested in injured condition. Police claimed that a police team was on patrol on Painsara Road when it stopped four suspects riding bikes. The suspects opened fire on police and hid in a sugarcane field. Police retaliated.

When guns went silent, police found one of the suspects injured by the bullets fired by his accomplices. He was shifted to Allied hospital and was identified as Rafaqat of Gojra Chak 98/JB.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2026