With his boots on: Policeman shot dead while chasing bank robbers
Punjab Police constable tried chasing the gang after looting, while Tarnol police slumbered.
Punjab Police constable tried chasing the gang after looting, while Tarnol police slumbered. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
In what appears to be sheer incompetence on the capital police’s part, a Tuesday morning bank robbery in the Tarnol area led to the death of a constable.
Armed robbers struck at a branch of a private bank in Sector D-17 and managed to loot Rs1.26 million. Constable Abrarul Haq, 35, was at the bank to withdraw some cash when he noticed what was going on. The uniformed cop attempted to chase the robbers, but was shot dead with a Kalashnikov rifle. The robbers then fled on an unregistered motorbike, which they later abandoned near Sangjani.
Meanwhile, the Tarnol police, who are responsible for the area, took their sweet time in getting to the crime scene.
Investigation Officer (IO) Munir Ahmed said the robbers were in plain clothes and held the bank staff and customers hostage for four minutes, during which they looted the cash. As they were leaving, the bank’s guard sought help from Haq, who was using the automatic teller machine (ATM) outside the same bank. Upon Haq’s intervention, they opened fire and shot him. The robbers were using 30-bore pistols and Kalashnikov rifles, the police added.
When Ahmed was asked how the robbers managed to flee despite a police check post near Tarnol, he denied that one is placed there. He suspects, however, that the robbers fled via GT road.
Sources in the police say that this was the third bank robbery in Tarnol in the recent past.
Last year, a gang of robbers looted Rs2.5million from UBL near Tarnol. The police have failed to track down the culprits behind any of these robberies.
Tarnol Police Station House Officer (SHO) Muhammad Aslam confirmed the incident, but denied his men arrived late. He claimed that the police responded soon after being informed, but the robbers had already escaped the site.
“We are trying our best to trace their route of escape and hope that we will be successful soon,” claimed Aslam. A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered on the complaint of the branch manager and investigations are under way, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 16th, 2014.
In what appears to be sheer incompetence on the capital police’s part, a Tuesday morning bank robbery in the Tarnol area led to the death of a constable.
Armed robbers struck at a branch of a private bank in Sector D-17 and managed to loot Rs1.26 million. Constable Abrarul Haq, 35, was at the bank to withdraw some cash when he noticed what was going on. The uniformed cop attempted to chase the robbers, but was shot dead with a Kalashnikov rifle. The robbers then fled on an unregistered motorbike, which they later abandoned near Sangjani.
Meanwhile, the Tarnol police, who are responsible for the area, took their sweet time in getting to the crime scene.
Investigation Officer (IO) Munir Ahmed said the robbers were in plain clothes and held the bank staff and customers hostage for four minutes, during which they looted the cash. As they were leaving, the bank’s guard sought help from Haq, who was using the automatic teller machine (ATM) outside the same bank. Upon Haq’s intervention, they opened fire and shot him. The robbers were using 30-bore pistols and Kalashnikov rifles, the police added.
When Ahmed was asked how the robbers managed to flee despite a police check post near Tarnol, he denied that one is placed there. He suspects, however, that the robbers fled via GT road.
Sources in the police say that this was the third bank robbery in Tarnol in the recent past.
Last year, a gang of robbers looted Rs2.5million from UBL near Tarnol. The police have failed to track down the culprits behind any of these robberies.
Tarnol Police Station House Officer (SHO) Muhammad Aslam confirmed the incident, but denied his men arrived late. He claimed that the police responded soon after being informed, but the robbers had already escaped the site.
“We are trying our best to trace their route of escape and hope that we will be successful soon,” claimed Aslam. A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered on the complaint of the branch manager and investigations are under way, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 16th, 2014.