KARACHI, Feb 15: Two suspected robbers were arrested red-handed on Thursday after a shootout with police in Quaidabad.

The police said three dacoits barged into the house of Khalilur Rehman, a cloth merchant, in Muslimabad, Bilal Colony. They said the intruders held the inmates hostage at gunpoint, looted jewellery and cash and tried to flee.

However, the police said, the victims raised an alarm as the dacoits left their house. The police also reached the spot as the area people chased the fleeing dacoits.

They said the fleeing bandits opened fire on the police who also returned the fire, injuring one of them. Meanwhile, the area people also caught hold of one of the bandits and beat him severely, while the third accomplice fled away.

The suspected dacoit, who was hit by the police, was identified as Mohammed Aslam Pervaiz, 30, and his accomplice, who was caught by the people, as Zahid Khan, 20. The injured suspects were shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre where both were stated to be in a stable condition.

The police seized two unlicensed pistols from the suspects, who identified their escaped accomplice as Siddique.

Meanwhile, the Boating Basin police in separate raids arrested four robbers and seized from them arms, jewellery, cash, snatched mobile phones and a truck.

On a tip-off, a Boating Basin police party headed by Inspector Arif Razzaq and Sub- Inspector Yunus raided near Bilawal Chowrangi and arrested a suspected street criminal , Banaras Khan, and seized a TT pistol, jewellery, a wristwatch and cash from his possession.

The police arrested suspect Hameedullah at Abdullah Shah Ghazi’s mazar ground and recovered a snatched mobile phone from his possession.

In yet another raid at an area in Shireen Jinnah Colony, the police held two suspects, Shabbir Hussain and Nazir Ahmed, and seized a stolen truck (GLT-5919) from their possession. Further invention was under way.

Besides, the Peerabad police arrested nine suspects in a campaign against drug traffickers. The police seized in all 12 kilograms of hashish from the suspected drug traffickers.

CONVICT DIES: A 30-year-old convict died in the Central Prison. His body was taken to Civil Hospital for autopsy. The doctors reserved the post-mortem report till the chemical examination report.