Six policemen were arrested on Wednesday on charges of unintentionally killing an innocent citizen and causing injuries to two others in Karachi's Korangi Industrial Area after mistaking them for robbers a day earlier, officials said.

Police had initially claimed that the casualties were the result of an 'encounter' that took place during a robbery in Mehran Town.

They had said a police team reached the scene of a robbery and following an exchange of fire between 6-7 dacoits and police, one person was killed and two others injured.

The deceased person was identified as Attaullah, while the injured as Khizar, 35, and Shahzad, 23.

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However, it later transpired that the deceased and injured were victims of the robbery, which prompted higher authorities to order an inquiry into the incident to ascertain the veracity of their relatives' claims.

Landhi Superintendent of Police Shahnawaz Chachar, who is conducting the inquiry into the incident, told Dawn that initial probe had revealed that the policemen "were responsible for the regrettable incident".

Sharing the gist of the inquiry, the senior officer said police's Madadgar-15 helpline had received information about a robbery incident. A police party rushed to the spot but in the meantime, the robbers managed to escape from the crime scene.

The deceased and injured citizens had thrown their valuables into the bushes to avoid being looted.

When the police team reached the site, the citizens were collecting their valuables from the bushes. The policemen assumed that they were robbers and opened fire on them, resulting in the death of one person and causing injuries to two others.

Police have registered a case against the six held police personnel on charges of manslaughter and seized their weapons for investigation purposes.