ISLAMABAD: Two people, a restaurant cook and a police official, were killed and another police official was injured in separate armed robberies in the capital, police said on Sunday.

The cook, identified as Ashfaq Ahmed, was killed in an armed robbery in I-10/3 in the limits of the Sabzi Mandi police station.

According to the FIR, which is available with Dawn, complainant Atif Zakir – who runs a shop next to Ali Baba Restaurant, told the police that a man on a motorcycle who appeared to be 25 years old held him up at gunpoint late at night and told him to hand over the cash at the shop.

He said Ahmed, the cook at the restaurant next door, saw what was happening and shouted to get people’s attention. The robber opened fire on Ahmed, killing him instantly, Mr Zakir said.

A police official who was not authorised to speak on the record said Ahmed was a resident of Abbottabad and worked as a cook.

“The suspect managed to flee from the scene of the incident. However, a case has been registered and investigation officer Aslam Kalyar is investigating the case,” he said.

He added that the body of the deceased was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences. The initial report suggests that Ahmed was shot in the chest.

“Although the police reached minutes after the incident, by then the suspect had managed to flee. Police officials deputed at checkposts were informed of the suspect, but it seems he was either a resident of the sector and stayed home, or he left Islamabad’s limits before directions were issued to find the suspect,” the police official said.

In a separate incident, a police official was killed and another was injured during a raid on a commercial building in the limits of the Lohi Bher police station to recover a motorcycle stolen from the Ramna police area.

Lohi Bher police official Shamrez Iqbal told Dawn that a team of three police officials visited the building based on information about a stolen motorcycle.

“When the police team got there, a suspect was riding the motorcycle who the team arrested. But in the meantime, [his accomplices] opened fire on the team, killing Chiniot resident Mohammad Ishaq and injuring another police official named Atique. The gang members then managed to flee,” he said.

A statement issued by the Islamabad police said that two teams have been constituted by Inspector General of Police Islamabad (IGP) Mohammad Amir Zulfiqar to arrest those responsible.

“First team is headed by Superintendent of Police (SP) Investigation Dr Syed Mustafa Tanvir and second team is headed by SP Rural Zone Naeem Iqbal,” it said.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2020