Two under-custody suspects killed in encounter

LAHORE:

Two under-custody suspects were killed in an alleged police encounter in the Hanjarwal area when their accomplices opened fire in an attempt to free them.

The incident occurred as officers from the newly established Crime Control Department (CCD) were transporting the suspects, Qasim and Tasleem—both allegedly involved in multiple cases of robbery and violent crime—for identification of a crime scene.

According to officials, as the CCD team reached a location in Hanjarwal, unknown assailants ambushed them in a dramatic rescue attempt. During the exchange of gunfire, both Qasim and Tasleem were fatally shot by bullets fired by their own associates, while the attackers managed to flee the scene.

The police immediately cordoned off the area and initiated a search operation to apprehend the fleeing culprits. The bodies were shifted to the morgue for post-mortem examination.