KARACHI: A suspect arrested for his alleged involvement in the murder of a shopkeeper during a robbery was killed by police while in custody after he allegedly snatched a policeman’s pistol and attempted to escape.

Shah Latif Town SHO Mohammed Ali Shah said that on Sept 21, shopkeeper Saeed Nawaz was gunned down while resisting a robbery in Sector-16-A near Darakshan Marriage Hall.

He said members of the public caught one of the suspects and subjected him to a beating while his two accomplices managed to escape. Police arrived at the scene, arrested the suspect, identified as Rawal Sarwar, and registered an FIR against him.

As the mob had beaten him, the suspect complained of feeling unwell while in the lock-up. He was on way to hospital when he allegedly snatched a pistol from Constable Saleem Tanoli and opened fire, wounding the policeman, the SHO said.

The suspect then allegedly attempted to flee and the police shot him.He died on his way to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, the police said.

The injured policeman was also shifted to hospital for treatment.

Police claimed that the deceased was a “habitual criminal” as there were several FIRs registered against him.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2026