KASUR, Dec 29: A district police team shot dead two robbers after chasing them up to Okara where an encounter took place on Monday. The two deceased were part of a gang that had killed a policeman in a shootout in Pattoki police precinct, according to Kasur DPO Rao Abdul Karim.

At a press conference at his office, the DPO said the police were tipped off that a gang of five robbers (wanted by the Kasur police) was on Deepalpur Road, and he constituted a team under Pattoki Saddar police SHO Fateh Muhammad. The team chased the gangsters and stopped their car (LWO-3942) near Hujra Shah Muqueem.

The armed men opened an indiscriminate fire on the police (the team was joined in by an Okara police contingent as well) which retaliated and killed two of the assailants after half an hour, the DPO said. One of the deceased was identified as Muhammad Ashiq while identity of the other could not be ascertained.

The other three, including Iqbal and Ghayas, made good their escape. The police linked their escape to fog factor.

The DPO said the Ashiq-led gang had killed a police constable, Jamil Baig during an encounter in Pattoki two months back. In November last, the gangsters shot dead commuter Riaz Ahmad and deprived many others of cash and valuables on Deepalpur Road.

LIQUOR: The Pattoki city police recovered 70 bottles of liquor on Monday from a sale point and arrested its dealer.

Led by SHO Syed Zafar Abbas, a Pattoki police team raided the place of Shaukat Masih of Kot Fazaldin and recovered 70 bottles of liquor. The police took Shaukat into custody and registered a case.