A young medical student was shot dead during an exchange of fire between police and suspected robbers in North Karachi on Friday, police said.

One suspected robber was also killed during the 'encounter', according to Sharea Noor Jehan police.

A police party was chasing a group of suspects, who were fleeing after committing robberies, and started exchanging fire with them at Anda Mor.

The police fire killed one of the suspected robbers, identified as Riaz Malik, but a passer-by woman was also injured during the exchange of fire. Police claimed that the woman, identified as 20-year-old Nimrah Baig, was struck by a bullet fired by the robbers.

She was initially taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, which referred her to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre where she died soon after arrival, according to Dr Seemin Jamali, the executive director of the hospital.

Dr Jamali later said Nimrah was a student of the Dow University of Health Sciences.