KARACHI, Dec 10: A driver of a money exchange company was shot dead in a botched robbery of a cash van on the main University Road on Monday.

Police said the incident took place near the Civic Centre within the remit of the Aziz Bhatti police station, where seven to eight men riding a truck intercepted the cash van by blocking its way.

The suspects first targeted the driver, but the gunshots did not pierce the bulletproof glass, DSP of the Aziz Bhatti police station Nasir Lodhi said.

Later they used a hammer to smash a hole into the glass before firing at the driver, he said.

Cash van driver Anwar Ali died on the spot, the officer said.

Unable to force open the cash van, the suspects ultimately fled, the DSP added. The security guards did not fire from inside the cash van, DSP Lodhi said.

Following the incident, police reached the scene and shifted the driver’s body to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medico-legal formalities.

The cash van belonged to the ‘Glaxy’ money changers, the officer said. The van had Rs10,000,000 when it was attacked.

Earlier, on Oct 16, two security guards of a private company robbed a cash van of the same moneychangers in the Sharfabad area within the remit of the Ferozabad police station. The security guards later escaped with Rs10.4 million with the help of their accomplices riding two motorcycles.