KARACHI: A suspected thief died by suicide to avoid arrest during an office-cum-house robbery on Khalid Bin Waleed Road near Tariq Road in PECHS early Saturday morning, officials said.

Ferozabad police Station House Officer (SHO) Adeel Afzal said the suspect had entered the office of a travel agency located within a bungalow with the intention of committing a robbery. When a police party arrived at the scene, he allegedly shot himself out of fear of arrest and died on the spot, the official said.

He said that the suspect had been identified as an employee of the travel agency in question, who had been working with the company for the past five years.

Afzal said the suspect had reportedly made a duplicate key to gain entry to the premises. When the owner noticed that someone had entered the bungalow, he called Madadgar-15 and the area police, the official said.

Subsequently, police rushed to the spot and cordoned off the bungalow, he said.

“The suspect locked himself in the washroom and shot himself to avoid arrest,” the SHO said.

The body was shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for legal formalities.