PESHAWAR: Peshawar Police have busted a gang involved in two major bank robberies in the city and arrested three key suspects, a senior official said on Tuesday.
Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Dr Mian Saeed Ahmed told reporters that the police had successfully solved both robbery cases after extensive investigations.
He said that in one of the incidents, Additional SHO Bahar Ali was martyred while performing his duty, while in another robbery incident, a security watchman also lost his life. The CCPO said the organised gang was involved in robbery at a private bank on Kohat Road within the limits of Inqilab Police Station on January 20, 2026, and the attempted bank robbery worth millions at Pir Bala Chowk on Warsak Road on March 6 has been unearthed.
He said Additional SHO Bahar Ali embraced martyrdom while bravely confronting the robbers during the Warsak Road incident, in which police foiled the robbery attempt.
The official said special teams were formed that included SSP Operations Farhan Khan, SSP Investigation Ayesha Gul, SP Muhammad Arshad, SP Fida Hussain, SDPOs, SHOs concerned, and investigation officers to work on these cases.
According to the CCPO, the special teams utilised Safe City surveillance along with modern scientific and technical investigation methods. Multiple raids were conducted in the Tirah and Bara areas of Khyber district, as well as in Charsadda and different parts of Peshawar, while several suspects were also interrogated.
He said the police received intelligence late last night regarding the presence of armed men planning a serious crime on the Northern Bypass within the jurisdiction of the Michni Gate Police Station. Acting swiftly, he said, the police arrested three members of the gang, while three accomplices escaped on a motorcycle.
The arrested suspects were identified as Muhammad Shoaib, a resident of Bara in Khyber district; Muhammad Umar alias Wajahat, a resident of Salman Khel; and Muhammad Imad, originally from Utmanzai, Charsadda, currently residing in Peshawar.
The CCPO said that the suspects were wanted in multiple serious cases, including murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, terrorism-related offences, theft and attacks on police.
