LAHORE: Four suspected robbers were killed in an alleged police encounter in Manawan on Friday.

A police official claimed the robbers were wanted in many cases registered against them. They had escaped from a prison van in 2008 and the police later arrested two of them, Usman Gujjar and Shakir Ali.

A source said the CIA policemen had killed the four in a `staged encounter`. He said the suspects were in the custody of the CIA police.

The police official claimed that the arrested men told the CIA officials that their two accomplices were present in a house in Manawan area and they were in contact with them by phone. On the basis of the information of the arrested suspects, a team led by Crime Investigation Agency SP Umar Virk took them to the location they pointed out.

The police official said as soon as the CIA officials reached there and knocked at the door, armed men opened fire on the raiding team which returned the fire. The police teams found the two robbers dead inside the house.

The police official further claimed that Usman Gujjar and Shakir also died during crossfire.

The official said they were wanted in heinous crime cases to Lahore, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Hafizabad and Nankana Sahib police. Amjad and Irfan were also wanted in a jailbreak case, he added.