Robbers involved in 150 cases killed: police

OKARA:

Two robbers suspected of being involved in over 150 criminal cases were killed and a constable injured in a police encounter on Sunday.

According to the police, three accomplices of the deceased escaped after the exchange of fire in the A Division area.

The police cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to apprehend them.

According to District Police Officer (DPO) Mansoor Aman, the police had received information that five robbers were fleeing on motorcycles near a fuel station on Faisalabad Road after robbing a citizen.

Constable Zaheeruddin chased the robbers who opened fire and injured him.

The suspects fled towards the Stadium Road after injuring the policeman.

Meanwhile, a heavy police contingent reached the area and chased the suspected robbers, leading to an encounter near the Football Ground.

The clash left two of the two suspects dead, while three others escaped.

The DPO visited the injured policeman in hospital, ordered then police to cordon off the area and launch a hunt for the feeling suspects.

Hospital officials told The Express Tribune that the injured constable was out of danger.

The police said they had recovered a huge quantity of stolen goods, weapons, motorcycles and mobile phones from the dead robbers.

DPO Aman said the suspects killed in the encounter had been identified as Asim alias Asif, resident of Khadian Kasur, and Ghulam Farid alias Fakhri, of Pakpattan.

The official said more than 150 cases had been registered against the deceased in at least six districts, including Okara, Sahiwal, Lahore and Sheikhupura. Most of the cases are of robberies.

He said the two robbers had mostly robbed families of gold jewellery in markets and they did not hesitate to open fire during the robberies.

The post-mortem of the dead robbers was completed. However, none of their relatives or friends arrived to receive their bodies.

The DPO congratulated A Division Police Station SHO Ejaz Bhatti and his team, and announced reward for them.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 10^th, 2023.