A police constable was martyred and two suspected robbers were killed in a shootout in Karachi’s Orangi Town early on Tuesday. Police said the constable later died in hospital after being wounded during the exchange of fire.
KARACHI: A police constable was martyred and two suspected robbers were killed in an exchange of fire in Orangi Town early on Tuesday, police said.
District West SSP Tariq Illahi Mastoi said four policemen were on routine motorcycle patrol near Liaquat Chowk, within the limits of Pakistan Bazaar police station, when they came across armed robbers. He said the suspects opened indiscriminate fire after spotting the police party, prompting the officers to return fire in self-defence.
Mastoi said both suspects were killed in the shootout. Police recovered two pistols, ammunition, spent shell casings and the motorcycle allegedly used by the suspects.
During the encounter, 26-year-old constable Hassan Ali suffered gunshot wounds and was taken to hospital, where he later died. District West police spokesperson Nabeel Ahmed Rajput said the constable had been wearing body armour, but the bullets struck him from the side.
Police said Hassan Ali was unmarried and belonged to Sukkur. After funeral prayers at the Garden police headquarters, his coffin was taken to his hometown for burial. Sindh IGP Javed Alam Odho, Additional IGP Azad Khan and other senior officers attended the prayers.
Police later identified the two dead suspects and said one of them had previously martyred an assistant sub-inspector in 2021 and had been arrested in that case. A police statement said there were “at least 13 criminal cases” registered against that suspect, while one case had been registered against the other.
Recent robberies and shootouts
The shooting was the latest in a string of violent incidents involving suspected robbers in Karachi. Last week, a suspected robber was killed and a policeman was wounded in a shootout on Mauripur Road.
Earlier this month, two suspected robbers were shot dead by citizens in Gulzar-i-Hijri and Cattle Colony. In another case, a suspected robber was lynched by a mob and another was wounded by a bullet allegedly fired by an accomplice during a robbery in Korangi.
