RAWALPINDI, March 8: The station house officer (SHO) of New Town police was suspended after robbers shot dead a trader on Seventh Road on Monday. Two armed robbers entered the shop sometime before noon and asked mobile phone dealer Mazhar Hussain to pack all the phone sets and hand over the packet to them.

As the trader, who was in his late twenties, put up a resistance, one of the robbers hit him on the forehead with his pistol's handle. In the meanwhile, a client entered the shop and seeing the situation offered the robbers his own mobile set and cash.

As the robbers were about to take hold of the cash and mobile, Mazhar again stepped forward to stop the robbers. One of the robbers then shot him in the abdomen.

The robbers fled without taking anything. Mazhar was rushed to the district headquarters hospital where he was pronounced dead. The robbers appeared to be Pathans; however, some eyewitnesses were of the opinion that they were Afghans.

An FIR was registered on the complaint of the deceased's brother and additional superintendent of police Ahsan Abbas has been appointed as investigating officer.

District Nazim Raja Tariq Kiani and senior police officials visited the scene after the incident. The DPO then ordered the suspension of the SHO, sub-inspector Chaudhry Khalid, and appointed Yousuf Ali Shahid as new SHO of New Town.

Official sources said the action was taken in view of the growing incidents of robbery and car theft in the jurisdiction of the police. They said the SHO had failed to effectively curb crime in the area falling under his control.

The sources said police had been directed to step up vigilance in the area and particularly keep an eye on the activities of the foreigners. It may be recalled that a man, who also appeared to be Afghan, had blown himself up in an imambargah a few days ago in the same locality.