KARACHI: The Railways Police on Sunday busted a gang of thieves who used to rob passengers at the departure time from the railway stations.

“We achieved the breakthrough on November 10 after arresting the key member of the gang identified as Umar Zaib alias Zaiboon from Landhi police jurisdiction,” said Acting SP Railways, Karachi Division, Jamshed Ahmed Butt.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday, he said the police took action after the accused allegedly shot a passenger Mohammed Ramazan s/o Allah Yar on resistance on-board Fareed Express which was departing from Landhi Railway Station at 09.15 pm on Oct 30. The passenger later expired in the hospital.

The accused had robbed Ramazan of his two cell phones and cash and another passenger Mohammed Zahid of Rs. 15,000 and fled from the scene in the darkness after jumping off the moving train.

The Acting SP said that another accomplice of the accused Badshahzada was absconding and added that both were residents of Dawood Colony of Landhi area.

The deceased Ramazan was working in a canteen of an English daily based in Karachi. He hailed from Vehari and was leaving for his home town to celebrate Eidul Azha with his family.

“A pistol, some cash money and an NIC copy of the deceased was recovered from the accused Umar Zaib when police arrested him from Radio Pakistan ground in Landhi area at 4 am,” the SP claimed.

The accused was presented before the media who in his brief comments pleaded his innocence.

The SHO of Landhi police station Arbab Solani, in whose jurisdiction the crime took place, said that two of the accomplices of the accused were already in jail who had been arrested for similar acts of crimes in September last. They all hail from Swat, he added.

He said that the accused was also wanted in several other cases in his jurisdiction.

An FIR No. 26/2011 under sections 392, 302 PPC have already been registered against the accused, he maintained.