Father, son killed during robbery bid

They resisted accused after withdrawing Rs0.2m from bank

KHURARIANWALA:

Suspected robbers on motorcycles shot dead a man and his son who were riding a car in Mustafaabad, Khurrianwala, after withdrawing money from a bank.

Police handed over the bodies to relatives after postmortem.

Taking notice of the incident, the regional police officer sought a report from the Faisalabad CPO and issued orders to arrest the culprits.

Abu Bakar, 45, the son of Atiq and a resident of Mohalla Mustafaabad, in the jurisdiction of Sargodha Road Police Station, was returning home along with his 17-year-old son Bismillah.

The victims had reportedly withdrawn Rs200,000 from a private bank near Millat Chowk. They were travelling in their car when the the robbers on motorcycles, who were chasing them, attempted to loot the money from them near their house.

The victims resisted the attempt, upon which the robbers opened fire on them. As a result, both Abu Bakar and Bismillah suffered bullet injuries and died on the spot.

Senior police officials, including SSP Operation Kashif Aslam, rushed to the spot after receiving information about the incident.

The police gathered evidence from the crime scene and handed over the bodies of the father and son to the heirs after postmortem.

According to the police report, the robbers did not succeed in looting the money.

Abu Bakar was a cousin of a former leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, Chaudhry Azeem Randhawa.

He was the only brother of five sisters, while Bismillah was his only son.

Police have failed to curb rising crimes in Faisalabad as about 50 cases are being reported daily on average. However, most of the cases are not registered by the police.

Incidents of murder during robbery bids were not uncommon across the province.

On August 31, a trader was killed by robbers when he offered resistance in the Shadbagh area of Lahore.

The victim identified as Muhammad Naseer was going to Harbanspura in a vehicle along with his brother Muhammad Yaseen when two robbers stopped them and attempted to loot them at gunpoint.

When the victims offered resistance, the robbers opened fire on them and fled with Rs800,000. Naseer sustained bullet injuries and died before reaching the hospital.

On May 2, a man was reportedly shot dead outside an automated teller machine (ATM) in Faisal Town, Lahore.

The victim was identified as Khalid Asif.

He and his son went to the ATM near Akbar Chowk at midnight in a car to withdraw cash.

When the man returned from ATM and was about to sit in his car, two motorcyclists tried to rob him. When Asif resisted, the suspects shot him dead and fled.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23^rd, 2020.