SAHIWAL: At least three suspected robbers were killed allegedly in the firing by their accomplices during an encounter with a Crime Control Department (CCD) team in Chichwatni tehsil on Saturday night.

As per the CCD, a team was patrolling near Kol Wala Bangla along the Lower Bari Doab Canal, when the five suspects in a white car opened fire on the policemen.

The police retaliated in self-defence and when the crossfire, lasting for around 10 minutes,stopped, the police found three of the suspects lying dead on the spot, identified as Waqas Ali, Zawar Hussain, and Imran-residents of 200/GB, 144/GB, and 272/GB villages of Faisalabad district, respectively.

The CCD claimed that the three suspects were involved in 46, 27, and 22cases of shop robberies registered across five district s Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Faisalabad, Chiniot and Nankana Sahib.

CCD Chichwatni Inspector Asif Nawaz, who led the operation, claimed the suspects were killed in the firing by their fleeing accomplices.

An FIR (No 31/25) was registered under sections 302, 324, 353, 186, 440, 427, 149 of the Pakistan Penal Code and 13-2(a)(b) of The Punjab Arms (Amendment) Ordinance 2015 and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, on the complaint of CCD Sahiwal SHO Waqas Ahmed.

Police recovered a white car bearing dual registration plates, along with a metal cutter and two iron rods, allegedly used in robberies.

The bodies were later transported to the DHQ hospital by Rescue 1122 for the postmortem examination.