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Arrests and encounters: Police nab suspects involved in DUHS bus robbery last week

The suspects had robbed 50 students on the bus that was headed to the campus in the morning

Our Correspondent December 15, 2014

KARACHI: Police claim to have arrested three key suspects responsible for the daylight robbery at a bus transporting over 50 university students.

Meanwhile, 15 more suspects, including alleged target killers and extortionists, were arrested in separate raids in different areas of the city. At least 50 male and female students of the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) were deprived of their valuables by a group of armed men who had entered the bus when it stopped to pick up students from their regular spot, within the limits of Taimuria police station.

This was not the first incident of its kind, particularly in District Central and West, where robbers have targeted buses of NED University, Karachi University and the Jinnah University for Women in the past. Police have been unable to trace the culprits behind these incidents.

Surprisingly, this time around, the police claim to have arrested the suspects within a week of the incident. The three suspects were arrested from the slum areas of Aurangabad, Nazimabad. They were identified as Javed, Babar and Naeem, while two of their companions, identified as Bhalu and Lalu, managed to escape during the raid.

"We managed to arrest them by using technical methods," said Taimuria SHO Humayyun Khan. "Besides weapons and motorcycles, we have also seized around 20 cell phones that they had snatched from the students." The officer said that the police was trying to approach the students to hand their cell phones over to them after verification.

The arrested suspects confessed to their involvement in various cases of street crimes, but claimed they did not have any link with the previous incidents of robberies on university buses. "We did not have any intention to rob the bus. It was not pre-planned," said one of the accused, Javed.

Separately, District West and Central police claim to have arrested three alleged target killers, identified as Abdul alias Abdulia, Shah Faisal alias Ganderi and Junaid alias Juni as well as an alleged murderer, Khadim Hussain, during separate raids in Federal B Industrial Area, New Karachi and Bilal Colony. The police also claim to have arrested five extortionists and robbers from the same areas. The suspects were identified as Junaid, Jahangir, Hayatullah, Amir and Yousuf. Hand grenades and weapons were seized from their possession.

In another raid, Rangers claim to have arrested three suspects during a targeted raid in Liaquatabad.

The Rangers spokesperson said that a target killer affiliated with a political party was also among the suspects who were arrested.

Separately, three more suspects were arrested during a raid in Qayyumabad, within the limits of Korangi Industrial Area police station. They were identified as Shahbaz, Fazil Ahmed and Adeel Ahmed. Three pistols were also seized from their possession. Police officials said that the suspects were involved in various cases of street crimes.