Hostage killed, brother injured in police-carjackers crossfire on M9

Gunmen snatched SUV, abducted its driver from Scheme 33, later killed him during exchange of fire with police

A 22-year-old was killed and his brother sustained injuries during an exchange of fire between police and carjackers on the Superhighway on Friday. The carjackers fled the scene, but were shot dead later by Jamshoro and Hyderabad police in an encounter on the M9 Motorway in Jamshoro district.

The slain youth, identified as Adnan Magsi son of Akbar Magsi, was abducted by the suspects after they snatched the double-cabin SUV he was driving near his home in the Scheme 33, Gulzar-e-Hijri.

According to police, suspects, driving a white Corolla, intercepted a double-cabin vehicle in Gulzar-e-Hijri, Scheme 33, and snatched it, while kidnapping the youth. As the culprits fled towards the Superhighway, police intercepted them near a U-turn and signaled them to stop.

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In their attempt to escape, the suspects' car rammed into concrete blocks placed along the road, forcing them to abandon the damaged vehicle.

The gunmen then took control of the snatched double-cabin vehicle and opened indiscriminate fire on the police. During the chaos, they allegedly shot and killed the abducted youth before throwing his body onto the road and escaping.

Police seized the suspects' abandoned white car and called in the Crime Scene Unit to collect evidence. Officials are checking the registration details of the suspects' car, suspecting the vehicle carried fake number plates.

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Meanwhile, Adnan's brother, Anas, who was chasing the suspects in another car after his brother was kidnapped, also sustained bullet injuries when the outlaws opened fire on him. He was rushed to a private hospital in Clifton for treatment.

Following the incident, residents of Scheme 33 and the victim's relatives staged a protest on the Superhighway, expressing anger over the killing. Sohrab Goth DSP Aurangzeb Khattak stated that the car lifters, who fled after abandoning their damaged white Toyota Corolla on M9, had fixed a fake number plate on it.

Another pair of number plates was also found in the car. Police also recovered four magazines and 'POLICE' caps from the car. The police are trying to determine the original registration number of the car through its engine and chassis numbers.

Suspects shot dead

The four outlaws, escaping after killing the young man and throwing his body on the road, were shot dead in an encounter with the Jamshoro and Hyderabad police in Jamshoro district.

The encounter, in which no casualty of policemen has been reported, occurred near a crush plant in village Ishaq Khoso along M9-Motorway.

Two of the killed criminals were the members of the notorious gang. They were identified as Haider Mehar alias Haideru and Punjabi Pitafi while the other killed suspects are still unidentified.

Haideru was said to be the leader of the gang which was named after him. The police claimed that he was booked in dozens of FIRs of murders, kidnappings and robberies.

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Hyderabad DIG Tariq Razzak Dharejo told the media that the police tried to stop the vehicle, a Toyota Revo, on the highway but the suspects opened fire on the police party in a bid to escape. He confirmed that four suspects died in that encounter.

According to the DIG, he received directives of the IGP Sindh Dr Ghulam Nabi Memon to catch the suspects who had escaped from Karachi after killing young Adnan in Sachal Goth area.

The DIG said the police of Hyderabad, Jamshoro and Thatta districts were put on alert to apprehend the suspects while recalling that a suspect belonging to Haideru group was also shot dead in a police encounter in Hyderabad last month.

Snatched vehicle recovered

The suspects, after they had abandoned their damaged vehicle on M9 had snatched another white Toyota Corolla car from Bangali Mor, on Site Superhighway, to provide cover for the snatched double-cabin SUV.

The same white Corolla car was recovered from the four carjackers killed in the encounter with Jamshoro police.

The owner of the car, Faizan, stated in a video statement that he was stopped by five suspects, some wearing police caps, who took him off the car, covered his face, and took him to an unknown location.

Jamshoro police foiled the attempt and recovered both stolen vehicles, the double cabin and Faizan's white Toyota Corolla.