ISLAMABAD: A man was injured while another narrowly escaped being hit by gunfire as criminals looted citizens in different parts of the capital, police said on Wednesday.

In the first incident, robbers intercepted a man identified as Mohammad Noman in a wooded area in Sohan and tried to snatch his bag which contained Rs100,000 cash, two mobile phones and ATM cards of various banks.

When Noman put up resistance, the robbers started beating him. They asked for his mobile phones’ passwords, but when he gave them the wrong ones, they hit him with pistol butts. The man was beaten black and blue and later thrown into a nearby nullah. The robbers then escaped with the cash and other items.

The robbers also withdrew Rs78,000 from Noman’s accounts using his ATM cards and transferred Rs40,000 through Easypaisa account by using the app installed in his mobile phone.

In another incident, a rider of an online ride-sharing app narrowly escaped being hit by gunfire during a robbery in I-12 area.

According to the police, a man booked a motorcycle ride with Tariq Rehman for Nust. The rider picked up the passenger from Pirwadhai, and on the pretext of taking a short-cut, the passenger took the rider to a deserted place where he pulled out his pistol and held him at gunpoint.

When the suspect tried to loot cash and valuables from the rider, he resisted. This infuriated the suspect who fired two shots at Tariq but unfortunately he remained safe.

The gunman then escaped with his motorcycle, mobile phone, Rs1,000 cash and ATM card.

Meanwhile, a gang of criminals looted a motorcycle from a man in Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU).

According to the police, two suspects intercepted Mohammad Khalid and asked him to handover cash and valuables. They also threatened him with dire consequences and then escaped with his mobile phone and motorcycle.

In another incident, robbers looted mobile phones, cash, ATM and credit cards from four persons, police said.

The robbers intercepted Ammar bin Wasim and his three friends at Trail 7 in Shah Allah Ditta area and held them at gunpoint. They then looted their mobile phones, cash and various cards and escaped. Elsewhere, suspects deprived a man of his motorcycle in PWD.

The police said two motorcycle riders intercepted Mohammad Luqman as he was returning from his university. They then forced him to hand over his motorcycle and escaped.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2024