KARACHI, Nov 30: More than a dozen armed robbers, two of them dressed in police uniforms, killed three men, including a police constable, before walking off with over Rs5 million from a local bank branch in Malir on Friday.

The seven-minute, violent episode left the area people shocked and in a state of fear and many residents later gathered outside the Saudabad branch of Bank Al Habib just opposite the Liaquat Market in Malir.

Eyewitnesses said some 13 to 16 people drove up in three apparently new 1,200-CC cars at 9.30am and parked each vehicle with a 100 feet distance from the next. At least two armed robbers entered the bank.

“A bank security guard deployed outside the branch was the first victim of the robbers,” said an eyewitness who got off a minibus near the bank after hearing gunshots.

He did not see the guard, Ashraf Ali, resisting before he was attacked by the armed robbers in one of the cars parked just outside the bank. The slain 40-year-old security guard was a resident of Model Colony and had joined the Security 2000 company some four months ago.

The firing alarmed policemen stationed in a picket about 150 feet away from the bank. However, witnesses said that the three law-enforcers came under heavy fire from a third car before they could even react. The car was hidden a few yards away from the picket.

The firing killed police constable Amjad Ali and injured assistant sub-inspector Liaquat Ali Ghangro and head constable Shahzado Khan. The 30-year-old deceased policeman was a resident of Shah Faisal Colony No 5 and left a widow and two children.

Among the two injured, who were moved to the Liaquat National Hospital for treatment, ASI Ghangro was said to be in a critical condition. The police said he received a single bullet in the head and had undergone surgery, but his life hung in the balance.

Inside the bank branch, the two armed robbers took the staff hostage after firing a few gunshots. The firing, which was believed to be a tactic to terrorize the bank staff, however, hit one of the bank customers, who died on the spot.

The customer, Iftikhar Hussain, 40, was a resident of Jafar-i-Tayyar Housing Society in Malir and was visiting the bank early in the morning for some personal work.

“We are quite convinced now that the robbers opened fire without provocation,” Dr Sain Rakhio Mirani, DIG East, told Dawn outside the branch, after having talked to the bank staff.

His comments squared with eyewitnesses’ accounts who said not a single shot was fired by the security guards and policemen deployed in the picket. The culprits, who blocked the whole main road for the robbery, were believed to be determined to kill the security people first.

A 13-year-old eighth grade student said he saw two policemen among the robbers, who were covering their associates inside the bank branch, a few moments before he left the scene with his friend on a bicycle to the nearby Government Boys Secondary School Saudabad No 1.

Mr Mirani confirmed this but said the robbers could have dressed in police uniform to dupe the security personnel and escape from snap checking of vehicles initiated by the police after the incident.

While the police counted three vehicles used in the robbery, the area people suspected there were four cars, with one of them allegedly tagged with a green ‘GP’ (Government of Pakistan) registration plate, which was seen taking the robbers from the crime scene to the Malir City area after the robbery.

“One of the robbers was even dressed in a three-piece suit. We have learnt this through witnesses at the scene of the crime,” said Latif Siddiqi, SP Malir Town. “The trend of robberies has changed to a large extent and these days one cannot suspect anyone from his or her appearance.”

He, however, cited his suspicions about the involvement of bank staff in the robbery, but said the investigation of the case had just begun and it could take time to reach a conclusion.

However, a senior investigation official, who visited the bank branch, said such a large number of robbers suggested that they had planned to rob the branch of another bank neighbouring the Bank Al Habib of Saudabad.

“But they left the scene in panic due to the killing of three people, which they might not have planned,” he said on the condition of anonymity.

The Saudabad police later registered an FIR (223/2007) under Sections 302 and 395 of the Pakistan Penal Code for murder and armed robbery.

“The case has been registered on behalf of Mustafa Ghazali, the branch manager of the bank,” said Shakir Ali, SHO Saudabad police station. “We have initiated the investigations and recorded the initial statements of the bank staff. We have got some clues but it is a little early to share them with the media,” he said, adding that the culprits stole a total of Rs5.036 million and left behind Rs1.5m.