LAHORE: Two suspected robbers were injured seriously after scores of people allegedly tortured them while they were looting a person at gunpoint in Nishtar Colony here on Friday night.

Police rushed to the site after receiving an emergency call, rescued the suspects and shifted them to a local hospital in serious condition. The injured were later identified as Nadeem and Shahzad of Green Town, a police official said.

The official said apparently both were habitual criminals as police recovered a pistol and looted items from them. He said the suspects had looted several citizens in the same area in the last couple of days and on Friday they had snatched a motorcycle, a mobile phone and a purse from a young man and his mother at gunpoint.

In a second hit, the suspects were looting a citizen at Sabzi Mandi when some people overpowered one of them. The second suspect opened fire in the air, warning that he would kill them if they did not release his accomplice.

Later, the locals overpowered both suspects and subjected them to torture, the official said, adding that police were trying to get access to the criminal record of the alleged robbers.

Published in Dawn, February 29th, 2020