KARACHI, May 11: In a bid to avoid his arrest, a wanted criminal opened fire on a police team in Orangi Town killing an assistant sub-inspector and a six-year-old boy on Wednesday, police said.

The tragic incident also sparked anger and fear in the densely populated Frontier Colony near Banaras Chowk as residents blamed the law-enforcers for lacking professionalism and required skills that resulted in the killing of a minor boy.

“Some five to six policemen in a mobile van were on their way to raid a drug den in the area,” said Sub-Inspector Raja Arshad of the Pirabad police station. “As the mobile reached Rahmani Muhallah in Sector 3 of Frontier Colony, one of the policemen saw a wanted criminal, Baidar Khan.”

He said the suspect was seen at a butcher's shop in the area and he sensed danger.

“As two policemen jumped off the mobile van, the suspect fired multiple shots that hit ASI Noor Hussain and a boy, Saifullah, in the street,” he said.

He said that the suspect ran into a narrow street of the locality, where movement of the police mobile van was almost impossible.

“Besides the police mobile, there was no other vehicle available to shift the wounded officer and the boy to hospital. They were shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where both of them died during treatment,” he added.

He claimed that the police did not return fire following the unexpected and abrupt firing by the suspect and in view of the presence of a large number of people.

Orangi Town SP Khurram Waris said that the suspect was carrying a pistol and claimed that there was no negligence on the part the of the area police in the deadly episode.

“We lost a competent officer. The police initiative to arrest a criminal like Baidar before moving towards the drug den was a wise decision but unfortunately it didn't work,” he said, adding that the 35-year-old victim officer was father of five and lived in Nazimabad police quarters.

“He originally hailed from Bannu while the victim boy was the resident of Street No 3 in Frontier Colony. His father Kamranullah is a labourer,” the SP added.