RAWALPINDI: A Pakistani-origin Canadian national was robbed in Rawalpindi Saddar when he left a money exchange service after exchanging foreign currency into rupees.
According to the police, the incident happened on Haider Road, near Mall Plaza – a building located within the vicinity of Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) that houses dozens of money exchanging services.
The police have registered a case against three suspects on a complaint filed by the robbery victim, Wajid Ali Barlas, a Canadian national.
He stated in his application that he had exchanged 1,750 Canadian dollars into Pakistani currency on July 1 at Mall Plaza.
As he exited the plaza, one of the suspects approached him under the pretext of losing his own money and engaged him in conversation. Soon after, two accomplices joined the scene on Haider Road and forcibly snatched Barlas’s bag.
The stolen bag contained Rs364,000 in cash, an expensive smartphone, a credit card, and a Canadian driving licence.
The victim alleged that the suspects lured and deceived him into a trap to carry out the robbery.
They police say they have launched an investigation into the incident and are hopeful that the culprits would soon be behind the bars.
Haider Road is a busy yet poorly lit road in Saddar, which makes it an easy target for burglars.
Last week, robbers snatched a smartphone and wallet from a resident of Poonch, Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
“I was walking on Haider Road towards GPO Chowk when two unknown persons on a bike approached me from behind. One of them pressed a pistol against my back and asked me to hand him over my phone and wallet. I was frightened and did as they said without any resistance.”
The victim, who had over Rs10,000 in his wallet, lodged a complaint with the police station in Saddar, where the officers advised him to forget about his belongings. “I had to return to my hometown the next morning, so I was never able to follow up on my complaint,” he added.