**A notorious gangster involved in banditry and other crimes has been killed by police in the southern city of Karachi, officials say. **Rahman Baloch had more than 100 criminal cases lodged against him and a reward of 5m rupees ($105,000) on his head, according to the police.
He was killed along with three accomplices, the police said.
He operated in the city’s Lyari district, a vast and densely-populated area where crime levels run high.
Rahman Baloch was also known as Rahman Dacoit [Bandit] in the Lyari area.
The police said Mr Baloch and his accomplices, who were travelling in a car, were killed when they opened fire on a police patrol.
The police retaliated, leading to the killings. Police said that Mr Baloch had escaped from custody a number of times in the past.
But there have been protests in the Lyari and Golimar areas of Karachi against Mr Baloch’s killing. Posters have been put up in the area expressing unhappiness about the deaths.
Correspondents say Mr Baloch was trying to position himself as a politician after the formation of the new government in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province.
He had joined a number of peace committees formed to cut down crime in the area.
Last year, Pakistan’s new government promised to improve law and order in Karachi, the country’s biggest city and its financial capital.
Hundreds of people, including gangsters, residents and policemen have been killed in turf wars between rival gangs.