GUJRAT, Jan 14: Robbers took away gold ornaments, cash and other valuables worth Rs25 million by taking the security guard hostage and cutting locks of six shops in a plaza on GT Road in Sarai Alamgir city, some 50 kilometres from Gujrat, on Friday night into Saturday. The robbers took away 1.5 kilogram gold, cash and other valuables from six shops of the Karim Centre. As they used cutters to cut locks of these shops, some shops caught fire.

The robbers freed the security guard at around 4am on Saturday and he informed plaza owner Mirza Altaf Baig about the incident. Rescue 1122 crew reached the scene and put out the fire.

As soon as traders of the city heard about the robbery, they reached the scene and announced a shutter-down strike and blocked the GT Road in protest. As a result, traffic on the road remained stuck up for two hours. They raised slogans against the police for its failure to check crime rate in the district. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz district president Malik Haneef Awan and PML-N MNA Jamil Awan reached the scene and persuaded the protesting traders to end the protest and disperse peacefully. Traffic mess on GT road was cleared after the protesters dispersed.

District Police Officer Rana Shahid Pervez told Dawn that Sarai Alamgir’s City police had registered a case against unidentified robbers under sections 451 and 380 of the Pakistan Penal Code. He said it was an incident of theft and not robbery as the complainant himself stated the criminals cut locks of the shops. He said police had arrested a man in this connection and were questioning him. He said he hoped the criminals would be arrested soon.