SIALKOT, Sept 24: The seven robbers, who killed three villagers on resistance, were later shot dead in an encounter by law enforcers of four police stations early on Sunday morning near Romaal Jattian village in Kotli.

DPO Zubair Nawaz Chattha told reporters that seven armed robbers in police uniforms were busy looting the people at a picket. For putting up resistance, the bandits opened fire on villagers, killing Muhammad Aslam, Ejaz Ahmad and Karamat Ali instantly and injuring five others. The robbers-cum-killers fled while resorting to aerial firing. The injured villagers were admitted to a local hospital in critical condition.

Receiving information, the DPO said that a huge police contingent from Muradpur, Kotli Said Mir, Sialkot Cantonment and Kotli Loharan police stations started chasing the criminals. Seeing police on their hot pursuit, the outlaws diverted towards the fields. Finding the police on close quarters, they entered the house of Abdul Razzaq in Punwaal village and made his two-year-old daughter hostage.

The DPO said that as the police came nearer to the house, the bandits slipped away from there and entered the nearby fields. The criminals opened fire when the police besieged the area. The police also returned the fire, killing five robbers on the spot and injuring the two others. They were taken to a hospital in Sialkot where they died. Bodies of villagers and robbers were shifted to Sialkot DHQ Hospital for autopsy.

The DPO said that four of the seven robbers were identified as Younus, Shamas Din, Aslam and Shamas alias Chhamaa. He said the deceased robbers were wanted in 56 cases of dacoity, robbery, kidnap for ransom, theft, murder and attempted murder by the police of Sialkot, Narowal, Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Hafizabad, Gujranwala, Lahore, Kasur and Faisalabad.

The DPO said the police also recovered a huge quantity of illicit firearms.

Meanwhile, Gujranwala range Additional IG Malik Muhammad Iqbal has announced cash prizes and commendation certificates for the police parties.