QUETTA: Three alleged car lifters and dacoits who were members of an inter-provincial gang were killed on Wed­nesday in an encounter with police in the Jinnah Town area of Quetta, police said.

Officials said the Serious Crimes Investigation Wing and police conducted a search operation in the posh area of Jinnah Town following a tip-off about the gang’s presence. Authorities began searching the area and found three suspects raiding a car on Samungli Road.

Police signalled the car driver to stop, but the suspects exited the vehicle, opened fire on the police team and attempted to escape.

Police and personnel from the investigation wing immediately returned fire. A heavy exchange of gunfire continued in the area for an hour, resulting in the killing of all three suspects.

Police later shifted the three bodies to a civil hospital, where one was identified as Sajid Hussain, a resident of Jaffarabad district.

“The accused belonged to the inter-provincial car-lifting gang,” a senior pol­ice officer said. “Two others who were also killed along with him were his acco­mplices and have not been identified so far.”

The suspect was wanted by Sindh and Punjab police in 172 different cases. The gang members were involved in shifting stolen cars to Balochistan and selling them in Quetta and other areas.

Police had arrested four other members of the gang during a prior operation against criminals in different areas. Further investigation is in progress, and police said more arrests were expected.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2025