ISLAMABAD: A suspect wanted by the capital police in 13 heinous crime cases was killed during a crossfire early on Saturday, a police officer told Dawn.

The suspect was earlier arrested by the Koral police in connection with a case related to kidnapping and gang rape of a woman registered on Sept 6.

He along with three other persons allegedly abducted the woman at gunpoint from Gulberg Green on Sept 4 and took her to a plaza in Saddar, Rawalpindi, and subjected her to gang rape.

On Sept 9, four armed dpersons set him free from the custody of a police team when he was taken to Ghauri Town for the recovery of a weapon used in the crime.

According to the FIR of the latest incident, a police team during patrolling at Bhadana link road near G-16 was fired upon by five gunmen early on Saturday. The police resorted to firing in the air and sought reinforcement, it added.

The police then chased the suspects after they escaped towards the wooded area and found an injured man in the bushes along with a Kalashnikov.

The FIR said the suspect was injured from the firing of his own accomplices.

A search was conducted to trace the other suspects but they managed to escape, the FIR said. The injured was shifted to Pims where he was pronounced dead. His identity as the wanted criminal was confirmed on Saturday afternoon.

The police officer said the suspect headed a gang of criminals who were involved in murder, kidnapping and land grabbing cases. He operated from his fortress-like residence in Tamer, he added.

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2022