Three robbers killed in police encounter

Sources say two suspects managed to escape; two cops survive attack

RAWALPINDI:

Three robbers were killed while two others managed to escape as a result of heavy cross-firing during an alleged police encounter in the Fuji Colony area of ​​the Pir Wadahi police station in Rawalpindi.

Two policemen were also hit by the bullets fired by the escaping suspects, however, they remained miraculously unhurt due to wearing bulletproof vests.

Soon after the incident, the locals converged at the scene of the encounter and chanted slogans, favouring the police for putting up a brave fight against the armed robbers.

According to police sources, all the slain suspects have criminal records and belonged to an inter-provincial gang of robbers.

The police have also recovered weapons from the possession of the accused.

According to the detail, acting on a tipoff about the presence of dangerous suspects in Street No. 18 of the Fauji Colony within the limits of Pir Wadhai police station, a team, headed by SHO Tayyab Zaheer Baig, carried out a raid, prompting the suspects to open fire at the police party.

As a result of the retaliatory fire by the police, the accused namely Fazlur Rehman alias Perchona, Izatullah and Javed Shah got seriously injured, while two other suspects managed to escape by taking advantage of the darkness of the night.

During the cross-firing with the accused, two bullets also hit Constable Rashid Mehmood and Khurram Shahzad, however, they remained unhurt.

Read Robbers impersonating cops loot family

As soon as the information was received, SSP Operations Faisal Saleem and DSP City Sardar Babar Mumtaz reached the spot along with a heavy police contingent and shifted the injured suspects to the hospital while a search for the absconders was launched. Later, the three suspects succumbed to their injuries in the hospital.

According to DSP City Sardar Babar Mumtaz, the three suspects have a record of serious crimes and they were involved in several incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The residents of the area paid tributes to the police team as well as the Rawalpindi and Punjab police. CPO Syed Khalid Hamdani also lauded the efforts of SP Rawal Faisal Saleem, SDPO City Sardar Babar Mumtaz and the Pir Wadahi police for their timely response to the information of dangerous criminals.

The CPO said: “The Rawalpindi police is always active for the safety of citizens.

Those who attack the police and citizens cannot escape from the clutches of the law.”

On the other hand, the Pir Wadahi police filed a case against the accused under various provisions, including the Anti-Terrorism Act, murder and attempted murder on the complaint of the SHO and have started searching for the two absconders.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2023.