PESHAWAR: A policeman on polio duty was shot dead over a family feud in the outskirts of the provincial capital early on Tuesday, the police said.

Constable Shah Nawaz, a resident of Sulimankhel locality of Badhaber, was heading to his shift on a motorcycle when he was targeted near the Zangli Canal at around 7:00am.

The incident occurred in the limits of Badhaber police station. The cop was assigned to the Mattani police station.

Rabnawaz, a brother of the deceased, told the police that his brother was on way to work, when the accused Fazal Rabbi opened fire at him with an AK-47 rifle. the complainant said the accused also opened fire at him, but he narrowly survived.

Funeral prayers of the deceased were offered at the Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines. SSP operations Kashif Zulfiqar and other senior officials attended the funeral. His body was later dispatched to his village for burial.

Meanwhile, the city police said they busted 94 gangs involved in street crimes in the provincial capital since October last year.

In a statement, they said six mobile snatchers were killed in exchange of fire with the police. In addition, 250 gang members were also arrested during the crackdown.

The statement said the crackdown had led to a 48 per cent decrease in snatching incidents during the current year. The police said they also recovered over Rs13 million cash, 181 snatched phones and 34 motorcycles.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2024