Cop, son perish trying to foil mugging bid

Police sources say bike-riding bandits opened fire as duo tried to catch them

ISLAMABAD:

An Islamabad police personnel and his young son were killed by armed bandits for offering resistance during a snatching bid on Sunday.

According to sources, Head constable Muhammad Ashraf and his son were martyred in Ramna police station limits in the federal capital.

The accused easily managed to escape from the spot as the police failed to arrest them despite the blockade.

Police sources told The Express Tribune that the martyred head constable and his son saw the suspects committing robbery and tried to stop them, but the accused fired indiscriminately and killed them.

As soon as the incident was reported, senior police officers reached the spot, but despite searching the entire area, the police could not trace the whereabouts of the accused.

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After the post-mortem, the bodies of the two martyrs were shifted to the Police Lines Headquarters, where their funeral prayers were offered. ICCPO Dr Akbar Nasir Khan, senior police officers, officers of other law enforcement agencies and the district administration along with a large number of citizens were in attendance.

A smart contingent unit of the police force presented a guard of honour to the martyrs, and the ICCPO and senior police officials draped the coffins with flower wreaths, before transporting their mortal remains to their ancestral village in Bhawana, district Chiniot.

On the occasion, ICCPO Khan met the family of the martyrs and expressed his condolences on behalf of the police force.

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He said: “Head Constable Muhammad Ashraf along with his son saw two motorcyclists committing robbery in broad daylight in the Ramna police station area and tried to catch them, on which the accused opened fire.”

Taking notice of the incident, he issued orders to the senior police officers to arrest the accused as soon as possible.

Dr Khan said the accused involved in the incident would be arrested as soon as possible and brought to justice.

Meanwhile, in another incident of street crime on Sunday, unknown armed suspects shot and injured a citizen on resistance during a robbery in the limits of the Karachi police station and fled the scene.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th, 2023.