LARKANA, Oct 23: Police arrested five alleged robbers after a brief chase ending in an encounter on Monday. Police were activily helped by people in their encounter with criminals.

Reports reaching here said that a boy in the neighbourhood alerted people and informed police after he saw the robbers entering the house of Abdul Waheed Veesar in Kandi-ji-kund locality.

As the police and neighbours neared the house, one of the robbers standing guard near the house fired in the air to frighten them away. Police surrounded the house and succeeded in nabbing two robbers, Saddarudin Veesar and Irshad alias Bholo Kunbhar, a primary school teacher while three of their accomplices managed to flee in a car.

Police and people chased the fleeing robbers and cornered them near the Bachal Veesar village some five kilometres from Ratodero. There was an exchange fire which lasted half an hour. Subsequently the robbers were arrested and their revolvers, pistols and car were seized.

Police identified them as Mansoor Shah (Larkana), Abdul Ghani Jagirani (Qambar) and Ihsan Veesar (Garhi Yasin) and booked them under three cases of robbery, encounter and possessing unlicensed arms.

One of the robbers, Abdul Waheed Vessar, had been reportedly kidnapped two years ago and never showed up since then while Saddarudin, another member of the gang, was said to be a close relative of the complainant, sources said.