LAHORE, March 9: An alleged robber was killed and his accomplice injured in Faisal Town when guards of a businessman opened fire on them, foiling their robbery bid in a broad daylight on Friday.

The Garden Town ASP told Dawn the guards of businessman Safdar alias Tentanwala were on way home after drawing cash from a bank on Maulana Shaukat Ali Road when two motorcyclists intercepted them near Model Town Extension. The guards offered resistance and opened fire on the robbers which was retaliated by the latter.

During the crossfire, the two robbers suffered multiple bullet injuries and one of them died on the spot while the other fled the scene after snatching motorcycle from a citizen. The killed robber was later identified as Afzal of Sialkot.

The ASP said the police took into possession the cell phone of the alleged robber and the motorbike.

The crossfire between the robbers and the guards created panic near Model Town Extension as the windowpanes of two nearby houses also shattered when stray bullets hit them.

The police said Afzal was released recently from Sialkot jail while the injured robber who fled the scene was his son-in-law.

The initial investigation suggested that Afzal had already a criminal record.

The body was sent for autopsy, he said adding further investigation was under way.

Demo: Locals held a protest demonstration against Islampura police shortly after the murder of a shopkeeper and infliction of injuries to another in a robbery on Friday night.

The demonstrators assembled near Tariq Building and burnt tyres to protest the deteriorating law and order situation in the area.

Three armed men entered Kashmir General Store and took its owner Munir Ahmad, 35, and his brother Abdul Aziz at gunpoint.

On offering resistance, the robbers shot at the two, injuring them critically. The injured siblings were taken to Services Hospital where Munir died.

The demonstrators claimed that street crimes in the area have alarmingly increased during the past few months. They raised slogans against the Islampura police for not taking proper security measures.

Meanwhile, senior police officials reached the scene and held negotiations with the demonstrators, convincing them to disperse.

The body was sent for autopsy and a case was registered against three unidentified men.