ISLAMABAD: The city police have failed to arrest armed robbers who snatched Rs 0.8 million from a journalist at gunpoint in Sector I-8/1 in the limits of Industrial Area Police Station on September 23.

According to details on September 23, two armed robbers snatched from Ishtiaq Ahmed, senior reporter of Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) of Rs 800,000 and pay orders valuing Rs 3 million as he arrived at his residence in sector I-8/1 after withdrawing from a private bank in I-8 Markaz.

As per the footages obtained from Safe City and private cameras, the suspected robbers awaited the victim outside the bank and chased him before entering Rawalpindi through Stadium Road after the crime.

Following the incident, Station House Officer (SHO) of Industrial Area Police Station Mian Khurram was suspended immediately after Advisor to Prime Minister on Interior Shahzad Akbar took notice of his negligence. Following a meeting with a media delegation, he had also directed the ICT police to trace out the criminals. Inspector General Islamabad Police Amir Zulfiqar had assured the journalist community to arrest the robbers and recover the looted money within 48 hours.

However, despite passage of four days and availability of footages hinting their escape route, zero progress has yet been achieved to trace out the criminals. According to the CCTV footage, apparently the very two motorcyclists also robbed Rs 1.1 million from another man named Arshad in Sector G-9/3 on September 9, after chasing him from F-10 Markaz branch of the same bank.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020