KARACHI, June 2: A police constable and an alleged bandit were killed in an encounter near Sohrab Goth late on Thursday, officials said.

They said that two police constables on a motorbike spotted four youngsters in the industrial area near Sohrab Goth, who were surrounding a hi-roof van.

“As the policemen reached there, one of the youngsters opened fire at them,” said DSP Iftikhar Lodhi, the supervisory police officer (SPO) of the area.

“A bullet hit one of the constables, Manzoor Solgangi, who died on the spot while in retaliation, his colleague Ali Mardan, shot dead one of the armed men. His three aides, however, managed to escape from the scene while carrying out heavy firing.”

He said that the police had also recovered a TT pistol from the deceased and his body had been shifted to the Edhi morgue after medico-legal examination at the Ababsi Shaheed Hospital for want of identification.

“Later the owner of the hi-roof, around which the bandits were standing, told the police that the armed men had snatched cash from him and were asking him to leave the vehicle when the policemen reached the spot,” added DSP Lodhi.