Good Samaritans: Robbery bid at senior journalist’s house foiled

ISLAMABAD:

Armed men, suspected to be robbers, tried to break into the house of a journalist in Sector I-8/3 on Monday morning.

The suspects fled the scene after a security guard and locals intervened.

Industrial Area police officers said they could not confirm the number of armed men.

According to the police, a few armed men tried to enter the house of senior journalist Talat Hussain at around 11:30am. The main gate was locked and the men tried to steal the car, according to information posted on saach.tv, a website run by Hussain.

Hussain was delivering a lecture at the Bahria University when the incident took place. His family was at home.

A security guard employed by Husain’s neighbour spotted the suspicious activity and tried to stop the men. They threatened him and tried to steal a car that was parked outside Hussain’s house.

The police said the guard was able to create enough of a ruckus to attract more people, forcing the suspects to flee.

The armed men did not steal anything or injure anyone, according to the police, but they reportedly damaged Hussain’s car.

The police said it was too early to link the incident with attempts to harass or harm journalists. A complaint had been filed with the Industrial Area police about the incident, but an FIR had still not been registered when this report was filed.

In a tweet posted on his official Twitter account, Hussain said he will hire a private security guard and install CCTV cameras.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2014.