PESHAWAR: A policeman was killed and four others, including SHO of Bala Mani police station, were injured in two separate attacks here on Wednesday.

In the first incident, a head constable identified as Nisar Khan was killed and his colleague Naveed Khan received injuries when armed persons attacked a police checkpoint near Khyber Teaching Hospital in University Town area.

An official of Town police station said that the attackers were three in number, riding a single motorcycle. The police personnel, he said, also opened firing onthem but they managed to escape.

He said that heavy contingent of police reached the area immediately and launched a search operation but the attackers remained untraced. He said that a case against unidentified terrorists was registered at Town police station.

In another incident, unidentified persons opened firing on the vehicle of SHO Abdul Hameed Khan in Paharipura area when he was going from his home to office.

The SHO, his bodyguard Zahid Khan and driver Siraj Naveed sustained bullet injuries in the attack.

All the three injured policemen were rushed to Lady Reading Hospital for treatment.

Officials said that about five attacks were carried out to target law enforcement agencies in parts of provincial metropolis during the last three days, leaving three personnel were killed and severalinjured.

The funeral prayers of the deceased policeman were offered at Malik Saad Khan Police Lines wherein IGP Nasir Khan Durrani, Health Minister Shaukat Yousufzai, Commissioner Munir Azam, CCPO Ijaz Khan, SSP Najeebur Rehman and MPA Fazal Ilahi also participated.

The CCPO told journalists that the attacks could not pressurise police. `Our morale is going up with each passing day and the sabotage attempts encouraged us to face more challenges,` he said. He added that police were ready to face any eventuality for protection of lives and properties of the public.

Meanwhile, four armed men broke into the house of a Hindu family on Pajagai Road and decamped with cash, prize bonds and jewellery.

Haroon Sarb Diyal, a represen-tative of Hindu community, told Dawn that four young men looted the house of Puran Dass at gunpoint. They took away 18 tola gold, Rs200,000 cash and prize bonds worth Rs200,000, he added. Mr Diyal alleged police visited the crime scene and also took away the cellular phones of the members of the looted family.

A police spokesman said that 12 outlaws including four proclaimed offenders and eight Afghan nationals were arrested during random checking and search operation in different localities. He said that 12 pistols, three Kalashnikovs, one repeater and contraband items were recovered from the arrested persons.

Meanwhile, two bodies of unidentified youth were found in Rano Garhi area in the limits of Paharipura police station. An official said that the bodies were found in agricultural fields.