'Drug peddler' killed during alleged encounter with police

Rangers arrest four suspects in Gulzar-e-Hijri, Sohrab Goth and Defence

KARACHI: A suspected drug peddler was killed on Friday during an alleged encounter with the police in the Keamari neighbourhood.

According to officials, the encounter took place when the police conducted a raid in Gulshan-e-Sikandarabad within the limits of the Jackson police station. The suspects, however, instead of surrendering, opened fire on the police and tried to escape under the cover of fire, forcing the police to retaliate.

SHO Shahoor Bangash said one suspect was killed during the exchange of fire while five others managed to flee. The killed suspect was later identified as 30-year-old Kamal alias Kamala. According to the SHO, Kamal was a drug peddler and was wanted by the Jackson police in around 30 cases related to narcotics dealing and at least nine more cases of other crimes, including robberies, murder attempts and attacks on the police. The police also claimed to have seized arms from his possession, while further investigations are under way.



Separately, the Rangers claimed on Friday to have arrested four suspects during separate raids in different locations of the city. Three suspects, identified as Sumair Mustafa, Shahid and Abdullah, were arrested during targeted raids in Gulzar-e-Hijri and Sohrab Goth while another suspect, identified as Izhar Hussain, was arrested during a raid conducted in Defence. According to the paramilitary force's spokesperson, the suspects were involved in various cases of crime. They were later handed over to the police for the initiation of legal proceedings.