LAHORE, Oct 23: A retail shop owner shot dead two alleged robbers while two of their accomplices managed their escape with Rs200,000 in cash in the Ravi Road area here on Monday.

Hamid Ali, the son of shop owner Haji Iqbal, told this reporter that his father fired at the robbers in self defence from the upper storey of the shop situated under the bridge of Data Nagar near the vegetable market.

He said four men riding on two motorcycles, turned up at the shop at about 1:30pm. Three of them came inside the shop while one stayed near the motorcycles. One of them asked the rates of different qualities of rice. In the meantime, he and his accomplices whipped out their guns.

“They held me, accountant Ameer Hamza and three customers at gunpoint. One of them started collecting cash from the safe, another stood guard at us, while third one occupied the exit point,” he added.

Hamid said he pushed the emergency button with his foot as a result of which his father, sleeping on the first floor, woke up and looked the whole scene through a hole in the backdoor of the shop.

He said his father fired at two robbers from the hole, killing one of them on the spot and injuring the other who died on way to hospital. While their third accomplice, who was collecting cash, managed to escape along with his colleague standing outside the shop.

He said one of the robbers had visited the shop on Sunday at around the same time, purchased some items and then noted down the telephone number of the shop.

The robbers left one motorcycle (LRV-7579) on the spot.

It is learnt that three Mujahid Force officials came there on seeing the rush of the people. Instead of quizzing the injured robber, who was alive at that time, about the names and whereabouts of the escaped culprits, stood at the spot like silent spectators.

“They neither searched the injured nor put any question to him,” said an eyewitness, seeking anonymity.

Another eyewitness said the police reached the spot after an hour.

Hamid said this was the ninth robbery at their shop in the last seven years but not a single paisa was recovered by the police.

He said keeping in view worsening law and order situation, an emergency alarm system had been installed at about 12 shops.

He said in the eight robbery occurred last year, one robber was killed, his accomplice was captured and handed over to the police while the rest of the robbers escaped with Rs300,000 in cash.

He said though the police check post on Maulana Ahmad Ali Road was a few feet from the spot, the police did not turn up soon after the incident.

Meanwhile, the bodies were shifted to the city mortuary.

Police said the two robbers, aged between 30 and 35, had tattooed their names - Yaseen and Sakhawat - on their arms.

They seized a carbine and a 30-bore pistol along with bullets from the spot.