MUZAFFARABAD, Jan 2: A gang of armed robbers killed two persons after looting around Rs2.3 million from a bank in a southern village of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Wednesday, police and witnesses said.Police and residents gave a concerted chase to the robbers, killing one and arresting two of them amid exchange of fire while efforts to hunt down the rest were continuing till the filing of this report.

According to details, a gang of at least eight robbers, riding a five-door jeep, descended on Mallot village, located some 80 kilometres south of Muzaffarabad in Bagh district, at about 11am and started indiscriminate firing with AK-47 assault rifles, creating panic and making people of the area flee for their safety.

Four of them entered the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) branch and killed security guard Sajawal, belonging to an adjacent village, after he offered them resistance.

The robbers vandalised the branch, and fled the village with around Rs2.3 million booty.

Police sources said some 200 yards on the outskirts of Mallot bazaar, villagers had blocked the road by parking tractors.

On seeing this, the robbers set their own vehicle on fire and boarded a Hiace wagon which they snatched from a local transporter.

However, as the next village, Bees Bagla, was also blocked by the villagers in a similar manner the robbers turned their vehicle towards a road leading to the snow-capped Nanga Peer peak.

The robbers had to abandon the vehicle after some three kilometres when it got stuck in the snowy track, police said, adding that while escaping on foot they killed another person, identified as Muhammad Nabeel, 35, mistaking him for one of the chasers.

In the meantime, police parties and hundreds of people from different sides started a hunt for the robbers and came across them near Mochi Gali where exchange of fire led to the killing of one and arrest of two of them.

SP Bagh Riyaz Abbasi told Dawn that the deceased robber was identified as Taimoor, resident of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the two arrested alive were identified as Ghulam Rabbani, resident of KP, and Shahzeb, resident of Balochistan.

“At least five more people are holed up in the dense snow-capped Ghaniabad forests and according to my information two of them are locals but we cannot disclose their identity at the moment,” he said.

He said two platoons of police personnel assisted by hundreds of locals had surrounded the area.

It may be recalled that in March last year, three robbers had looted over Rs600,000 from NBP branch in Rangla village, located close to Mallot. Of the three robbers, one was killed by the residents through stone pelting and another one was arrested by the police. The third succeeded in fleeing along with the booty.