LAHORE, Sept 14: Two motorcyclists shot dead a traffic policeman at Kalma Chowk here on Tuesday. Quoting eyewitnesses, police said the constable on duty at the crossing, Mumtaz Ahmad, had intercepted the motorcyclists on a traffic violation.

They had an argument with the policeman before one of them whipped out an automatic weapon and opened fire, the police added. Lahore Traffic SP Maj Muhammad Faisal (retired) told Dawn that the motorcyclists were hardened criminals, who killed the policeman to avoid arrest.

He said the policeman had asked them for documents as their motorcycle bore no number plate. "We are policemen and we never keep documents," the SP quoted the accused as saying. The constable, however, insisted on production of documents.

Mr Faisal said the injured policeman overpowered one of the accused while the other fired more shots to get his accomplice free. The policeman sustained critical bullet injuries and the motorcyclists, unidentified so far, sped away. The injured policeman was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

A passer by, Kashif, chased the motorcyclists up to the Qadhafi Stadium, contacting police at 15 by his cell phone, but the police were slow to respond, a police source said, adding that slackness on the part of the police at 15 helped the accused escape. Quoting doctors, the police said the policeman had sustained 14 bullet wounds.

The SP said an amount of Rs50,000 had been arranged within the department for the bereaved family. A retired armyman, the deceased policeman had been hired on contract and was not entitled to Rs500,000 that the Punjab government would pay its policemen as compensation in such cases.