Gunned down: Suspected robber killed in yet another encounter

Police say the accused snatched a rifle and tried to escape

LAHORE: A suspect was killed in a police encounter after he snatched a rifle from an official and tried to escape in the Nishtar Colony area on Monday night.

Police said they captured suspected robber Muhammad Rafiq who was wanted in a robbery-murder case registered in 2014. The investigation officer said they were taking the suspect to recover some looted valuables. That was when he suddenly snatched a rifle and jumped out of the van. In his bid to escape, Rafiq also snatched a motorbike from a passer-by.

The police announced the suspect’s escape on the radio and nearby contingents launched a search operation. The man was finally spotted in Kahna. When police moved forward to arrest him, he opened fire to which the cops retaliated. The suspect was gunned down in the encounter.

This is not the first such incident of recent times. On Thursday, last week, four suspected robbers, including three accused of the Millat Park robbery, were killed in an ‘encounter’ on Thursday night in the Shahdara area.

The botched Millat Park robbery resulted in the death of five people, while another man was injured.

Investigation Officer Sub-Inspector Muhammad Akram said three suspects, identified as Zaheer, Zahid and Jahangir, were on physical remand and were being transported to Sukheki district in Hafizabad to recover snatched valuables.

The police van was on the way back when a car intercepted the vehicle near Saggian Bridge. The gunmen in the vehicle opened indiscriminate fire on the police, which took positions and shot back. In the ensuing shoot-out, the assailants hit the detained suspects, killing all of them on the spot. A gunman from the attackers group was hit by the police’s retaliatory fire and also died.

In the last week of November, another suspected robber was killed by police in similar fashion. According to officials, Abu Bakar was in the custody of Defence-A police.

Somehow, he managed to flee from custody, but came face to face with the cops a few hours later in Harbanspura and was killed in a shootout.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2016.