Rawalpindi : Four members of a highly dangerous inter-district robbery and contract killing gang were killed in a police encounter in the Sadr Baironi area of Rawalpindi, while two suspects managed to flee.
According to police, the suspects opened fire on a police party during a snap-checking operation after receiving information about car snatching. In retaliatory action, four robbers were killed on the spot, whereas two escaped under the cover of darkness.
Police recovered a car that had been snatched at gunpoint from a citizen shortly before the encounter, along with weapons used by the suspects. Another vehicle being used by the gang was also reported to have been stolen at gunpoint from Islamabad.
Police officials said the same gang was involved in the recent murder of a trader who was travelling with his family in the Sadr Baironi area. The deceased suspects were wanted and record-holders in multiple cases of murder, robbery, and car snatching registered in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and Peshawar.
Senior police officers reached the scene soon after the incident, while a search operation has been launched to arrest the fleeing suspects.
City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Khalid Hamdani stated that criminals who threaten the lives and property of citizens will not be allowed to escape the law.
