Botched bank heist: Police kill two robbers after they shoot down bank guard

Jamshed Quarters police constable was critically injured in the exchange of fire.

KARACHI: The police killed two robbers in an encounter after the latter shot down a security guard during a bank robbery on Khalid bin Waleed Road on Monday afternoon.

Around 11:30am, a group of armed robbers stormed into the branch of Habib Metropolitan Bank on Khalid Bin Waleed Road. “The guard at the bank became suspicious so he intercepted them,” said Ferozabad SHO Aurangzaib Khattak, adding that when the guard tried to stop them, the robbers killed him.

The security guard, who belonged to Brinks Security Company, was shot in the neck and died shortly. After the murder, the robbers fled the bank in their white Suzuki Mehran car without looting. “A police mobile, on routine patrol, reached the site and started chasing them,” the officer explained, adding that since they had noticed the number plate of the car they conveyed the information to police control.



Officials of the Solider Bazaar and Jamshed Quarters police stations were set on alert and started chasing the culprits. As the culprits reached Soldier Bazaar No. 3, an encounter took place between the police and the robbers. During the exchange of fire, one robber was killed and a police constable of the Jamshed Quarters police station, Azam, was wounded.

“Meanwhile, another robber walked out of the car and sought refuge in a nearby house. From there, he attacked the police with a hand grenade,” SHO Khattak explained, adding that when he was trying to lob another grenade, the officials opened fire at him, and the grenade exploded in his hands, causing his death.

The bodies of the deceased robbers were taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and later shifted to Edhi morgue, Sohrab Goth, for identification. The injured policeman was shifted to Liaquat National Hospital, where doctors termed his condition critical as he was also shot once in the neck.

SHO Khattak said the gang of robbers comprising four persons included a woman.  Two of them, including the woman, escaped. He also claims to have recovered hand grenades and weapons from the suspects’ possession. DIG East Munir Shaikh appreciated the efforts of the police team and announced an award worth Rs100,000. This would have been the fourth bank robbery in the past two weeks.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2013.