Police shoot suspect after spree of robberies

Police say suspects committed four robberies in 90 minutes.

LAHORE: A man killed in a shootout with police in Shahdara on Saturday night had been on a spree of robberies with two accomplices before running into a police patrol, a DSP said.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Nasir Mehmood said that the three had committed their first robbery at around 10pm when they deprived a couple of their Honda 70cc motorbike on the Ganda Nala Road near Kamran Park. They had failed in a mugging attempt on a man named Rizwan earlier, he said.

DSP Mehmood said the three then robbed a couple of Rs11,000 and two mobile phones on GT Road.

They also stole Rs5,000 and other valuables from a couple near a Gourmet Bakery outlet on Sheikhupura Road. All three robberies occurred in Shahdara police jurisdiction. In their next strike, they stole a person’s 125cc bike near Ravi Tikka House in Shahdara Town police jurisdiction, ditching the bike they had stolen earlier.

He said that Sub Inspector Hassan Raza of Begum Kot police post spotted the suspects on patrol and approached them. He said the suspects opened fire on Raza and tried to flee down a narrow street leading to Rashid Colony. The police chased them.

He said that the suspect at the back of the bike got off it and continued to fire at the police. The police returned fire and hit him in the neck, killing him instantly, he said. The other two suspects fled the scene, he said. The encounter occurred at about 11:35pm.

The DSP said that the victims of the earlier robberies had identified the dead man as one of the men who robbed them.

He said that five FIRs had been lodged against the suspect, including one of shooting at the police and a bike theft FIR at Shahdra Town police station. He said the dead man had been identified as Nadir, a resident of Cheema Wala Khoo who was wanted for at least four robberies. He said that the police were searching for the two other suspects and would find out if they were wanted in any other cases.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 12^th,  2011.