Street criminals gun down policeman during robbery bid

LAHORE:

A police constable has been killed in an encounter with two suspected robbers in the Data Darbar area on Friday. The whole incident was captured by the Punjab Safe City Authority (PSCA) camera.

Police Constable Muhammad Ramzan was part of the team responding to a rescue call at 15 by a citizen about a robbery.

A citizen Mubashir Rasool said he was riding a motorcycle and when he reached near Grid Station in Bhatti Gate area, he received a phone call from his wife. As he stopped to answer the call when two unidentified suspected robbers intercepted him at gunpoint and looted valuables from him. The suspects also opened fire while leaving the crime scene.

The victim made a call to police helpline 15 and described the details of the incident. A police team responded to the call. The suspects on foot were running away when Police Constable Muhammad Ramzan along with his colleagues intercepted them. The suspects had shot at and injured a passer-by over offering resistance a few moments before the police teams arrived.

The suspected robbers opened fire on police. Ramzan received a bullet injury and was shifted to a nearby hospital where succumbed to the injuries.

The incident captured on a camera of PSCA shows two police constables stopping their motorcycle to intercept a suspected robber in a narrow street near Data Darbar. The suspects resort to indiscriminate fire. The policeman (Ramzan) receives a bullet and fell as the suspects escape from the scene. The footage also showed that other cops gathered near the injured cop to shift him to a nearby hospital.

The injured cop was shifted to Lahore Mayo Hospital for treatment but could not survive.

The funeral prayer of martyred Constable Muhammad Ramzan was offered at District Police Lines Qilla Gujjar Singh. Lahore CCPO Ghulam Mahmood Dogar, DIG Operations Sajid Kiani, DIG Security Mehboob Rashid, the father, brother and other family members of the martyred cop attended the funeral.

Dogar, Kiani and other senior police officers laid flower wreaths on the coffin of the constable.

Later, the body of the martyred constable was departed for burial to his native village Shakar Garh Narowal.

The burial ceremony of martyred constable Ramzan was held at his native village with police protocol. While talking to the media persons after the funeral prayer, Lahore CCPO Additional IG Ghulam Mahmood Dogar said the brave cops have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty and attained the status of Shaheed.

He said the sacrifices and martyrdom of personnel of Lahore police project their commitment to the duty.

Dogar said Constable Ramzan was a brave man and has become 321st Shaheed of Lahore police. He said special teams have been constituted to trace out the culprits involved in the incident of firing at the police team.

The martyred cop was 40 years old and joined the police force as s constable in 2005. He is survived by his widow, four sons and a daughter.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 14^th, 2021.