RAWALPINDI: A constable was martyred while two others were injured and three suspected robbers were killed during a shootout between police and suspected robbers in Bahria Town Phase VII on Saturday night, police claimed on Sunday.

The encounter between the police and robbers occurred when Dhamial police, comprising ASIs Mohammad Javaid and Kafait Khan, and constables Jawadul Hassan, Atifur Rehman and Adeel Zafar, set out to track down a gang of robbers who were wanted in a cell phone snatching case registered at Dhamial police station.

The robbery victim, Mohammad Usman, had lodged an FIR with the police on Saturday, and soon after the robbery took place, the police managed to trace the location of the robbers, and a police party was constituted to arrest the culprits, who were hiding in a commercial building in Bahria Town’s Phase VII.

The Dhamial police party also sought the help of Rawat police, as the hideout of the culprits was located within the limits of Rawat police station. Mohammad Sarfraz, Mohammad Wasim, Mohammad Afzal, Amjad, Shahzad Adil and Amir Mehmood, accompanied by Dhamial police, reached the rooftop of a commercial building in Bahria Town’s phase VII at around 11:30pm.

The ASI Dhamial police station Mohammad Javaid, mentioned in the FIR that when they reached the location, five suspects opened fire on the police party. The police responded in the same way in self-defence and warned them to stop firing. However, the robbers ignored the warning and continued firing on the police party.

The constable Adeel Zafar fell victim to the firing of suspected robbers, while constables Shahzad Adil and Amir Mehmood were injured. Naveed Azhar, a civilian who was accompanying Mohammad Usman when the latter was robbed of his cell phone, was also injured as he was accompanying the police party during the raid.

The injured were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ), where they were stated to be in a stable condition.

Police said three of the suspected robbers were killed during the encounter, while two of their accomplices managed to escape from the scene in the dark. Pistols and bullets were also recovered from the suspected robbers, whose bodies were shifted to the hospital for postmortem as well.

Later, an FIR was registered against the suspected robbers under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, murder, and other relevant sections of the law, and a search for the two accomplices of the robbers was launched.

The funeral prayer of constable Adeel Zafar was performed at Police Lions Headquarters.

Regional Police Officer (RPO) Rawalpindi Syed Khurram Ali, City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Khalid Hamdani, SSP Operations Faisal Saleem, senior police officers, and relatives of the martyr attended the funeral prayer.

RPO Syed Khurram Ali and CPO Syed Khalid Hamdani also visited the hospital, inquired about the health of injured constables, and expressed their best wishes. They also directed the concerned officers to ensure the best treatment of the injured.

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2023