KARACHI, March 9: Three bandits shot and wounded a doctor in a bungled robbery in Clifton and escaped. Police again intercepted them in Gulshan-i- Iqbal where two of them fled away in a police mobile after taking possession of it.

A senior police official said Dr Mehboob Ilahi changed 2,000 Canadian dollars into Pakistan rupees from a money changer and was returning to City Clifton Hospital in his car, when three bandits, riding in a car (ADF-993), intercepted him about 100 yards from the hospital in Delhi Colony.

He said the bandits attempted to hijack the car and snatch the cash. The doctor put up resistance to the bandits, who opened fire on him and a bullet hit his leg. Meantime, a police mobile, patrolling the area, reached the scene and the bandits escaped firing in the air.

The doctor was rushed to a hospital. Three policemen noticed the car of the bandits near Hasan Square, which was stuck up in a deluge of traffic. Police arrested the three bandits and recovered three TT pistols and the stolen car in which they were travelling. The policemen ordered the bandits to get into a police mobile, but one of them attempted to escape. The policemen ran after the bandits and caught hold of him.

Two of the bandits overpowered one of the policemen, Abdul Qadir, snatched his sub-machinegun, shot and wounded him and drove away in the police mobile. Constable Qadir was rushed to a hospital.

The arrested bandit, Shah Jahan, told police that his accomplices’ names were Nazar and Yaqoob.

A police official said the bandits met with an accident in Gulshan-i-Iqbal on University Road and abandoned the police mobile van. However, they hijacked another vehicle and drove away in that vehicle.

He said: “We are facing shortage of manpower, especially after the bifurcation of the force into “operation” and “investigation” wings. We received directives to conduct snap checking of vehicles and intensify patrolling. But shortage of manpower is creating problems like this one.”