RAWALPINDI: In a shootout between police and robbers on Sunday night in Pirwadhai area, a suspected robber was killed and two police officers were injured, while other police personnel narrowly escaped injury.

The injured police officials identified as Sadaqat Ali and Ali Raza were shifted to Holy Family Hospital (HFH) where they are stated to be in stable condition. The body of the suspected robber was shifted to the hospital for postmortem.

This was the second incident on Sunday night. The other encounter took place in the jurisdiction of Karachi Company police station during which a robber died and a police official was severely injured.

According to officials, the encounter between police and robbers started when a member of the police team deployed at a checkpoint set up opposite a private hospital signalled a motorcycle with three riders coming from I.J. Principal Road.

Instead of responding to police, the motorcycle riders opened fire at the police party who responded in the same way which left the two police officials injured and one of the suspected robbers dead.

Qamar Sadiq, sub-inspector of Pirwadhai police, registered a first information report (FIR) saying that he along with four police officials were on duty at a check-point when they saw three suspicious persons riding on an unregistered motorcycle and signalled them to stop.

He said that instead of responding, they pulled out their pistols after coming close to police, adding that as police was apprehending one of the suspected motorcycle riders, his accomplices fired gunshots at them. The police attempted to save their lives by lying down on the ground, he added.

The culprits managed to disappear in the narrow streets, leaving their motorcycle behind. After the culprits escaped, police found two of their constables Sadaqat Ali and Ali Raza lying injured, while one of the suspected robbers had already died due to gun shots fired by his accomplices.

Later, the reinforcement of police arrived at the crime scene, shifted the injured to HFH and launched a search operation.

Regional Police Officer (RPO) Nasir Mehmood Satti visited the hospital to inquire after the health of the injured police officials.

“Those who do not care about their precious lives while protecting the life and property of citizens are valuable assets,” RPO Satti said.

Additionally, the RPO directed police to launch a search operation in the area to apprehend the suspects and to continue crackdown against criminals under an effective strategy.

About three hours before the shootout took place between the police and robbers, a man was shot and injured while offering resistance to a suspected robber who threatened a shopkeeper and demanded cash in Pirwadhai area on Sunday.

Shabbir Khan, a resident of Bangash Colony, lodged an FIR with police saying that he was sitting at his friend’s shop when an unidentified person entered and threatened him. He said that while the gunman attempted to grab money from the drawer, he tried to apprehend him but he was shot and injured by the robber who then escaped from the scene. The injured was shifted to the hospital where he was stated to be in stable condition.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2023