LAHORE: The police claimed on Tuesday to have shot dead two robbers in shootouts in different areas.
The Mughalpura police killed a ‘robber’ who allegedly raped a woman during a house strike at Mujahidabad three and a half months ago while the Gulshan Iqbal police shot down a robber who had injured a retired colonel on resistance on Monday.
Earlier, an alleged robber was killed by the Model Town CIA police at Old Kahna in the early hours of Monday.
Civil Lines SP (Operations) Abdul Qadir Qamar told Dawn that officials at a picket set up by the Mughalpura investigation in-charge signalled two motorcyclists to stop in the early hours. He said the suspects instead opened fire and the police chased and retaliated.
The SP said the suspects apparently escaped but an emergency call alerted the police that a man was lying injured on ground at Mujahidabad. He said the police rushed to the spot, picked up the man with multiple bullet wounds and took him to hospital but he died on the way.
SP Qamar said the victim was identified as Shahzad, 27, who hailed from Faisalabad. He said Shahzad was the one who opened fire on the police and his accomplice managed to escape.
He said the suspects had come to threaten Muhammad Naseer at his house to withdraw the robbery-cum-rape case against them. He said Shahzad and Azam, who along with their three accomplices, had entered the house of Naseer on April 3 last, raped the complainant’s daughter and daughter-in-law and fled with cash and valuables.
He said the police record also found that Shahzad was nominated in several cases of murder, dacoity and robbery in Faisalabad and his accomplice Azam was killed in a police encounter a couple of months ago.
Meanwhile, the police shifted the body for autopsy and registered a case under 324, 353, 186 of PPC and 13/20/65 Arms Ordinance on the complaint of Inspector Muhammad Azam Manhais.
The Gulshan Iqbal police said a young robber was killed in crossfire with a team shortly after he and his accomplice attempted to loot cash and valuables from a retired army officer and his family and wounded him on resistance in Iqbal Town’s Kamran Block.
Iqbal Town SP (Operations) Imtiaz Sarwar said Col Farooq (retired) went to his relative’s house along with his family for Iftaar when two robbers stopped them and started looting jewellery from women.
As Farooq challenged them, one of the suspects fired at him. The firing also alerted neighbours who gathered on the spot.
Quoting witnesses, the SP said one of the suspects fled on the bike while the other having two weapons started running. The SP said a street guard opened fire on the runaway suspect who returned fire. On being informed, some policemen on patrol duty reached the spot and killed the gangster in crossfire.
Sarwar said the suspect had not yet been identified while the injured victim was admitted to the Jinnah Hospital.
Meanwhile, an alleged robber who was killed in a police shootout in Khana police precinct on Monday has not been identified. A Jinnah Hospital morgue official said the body was still lying for postmortem examination.