LAHORE - Crimes Investigations Agency (CIA) Police have gunned down four notorious gangsters involved in heinous crimes during an encounter in the wee hours on Wednesday in Marghzar Colony, police sources disclosed. There was also cross firing between police and gangsters, however, no policeman was hurt during the crossfire, which according to the police, continued for one hour and automatic weapons were also used by the dacoits. The sources revealed that the gangsters were in the police custody for last several days and the police finished their episode after completing the investigations. The sources further said that the police took them to the site and staged an encounter. The dacoits killed in the encounter were later identified as Shahzad Khan, Abdul Rauf Rufi, Khalil Ahmad and Asghar Shahzad. However, the police said that all the dacoits were involved in various cases of murders, robbery, kidnapping for ransom and vehicle snatching incidents that they had committed in different parts of the Punjab including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Shekhupura, Vehari and Sialkot. According to the police, the CIA Model Town police team conducted an armed raid at the hideouts of the dacoits on a tip-off in Marghzar colony Hanjarwal police area, where the accused were taking shelter. Heavy police contingents including the SI Zaffarullah, ASI Muhammad Jaffar, head constable Muhammad Mansha, Munir Ahmad, Abdul Hameed, Shahzad, Kashif Bilal, Muhammad Javed, Khalid Naseem and driver Raffaqat Hussain carried out the raid and cordoned off the suspected 'Haveli and asked the dacoits to surrender. But on seeing the police, the gangsters opened fire on police party. An official claimed that the police party announced to surrender but the miscreants opened indiscriminate fire on the police. The police claimed that the police officials contacted the senior officers and brought the situation into their notice. Later, the police also retaliated and opened fire on the dacoits after they received green signal from the higher authorities. Meanwhile many vehicles of the patrolling police also reached on the spot. When the firing stopped, the police carried out search of the area, where all the four gangsters were found dead with multiple bullet wounds, police official maintained. But interestingly, no policeman was hurt during the crossfire and all the robbers were killed on the spot within seconds, according to the police story. The police also claimed that the gangsters opened fire with lethal weapons on them during the encounter but all the police officials remained unhurt. However, the sources revealed that the CIA Model Town on the directives of police hierarchy staged the fake encounter to kill these hardened criminals. The CIA police also recovered four pistols and other lethal weapons from their possession. Moreover, the police identified the criminals from their national computerized ID cards, recovered from their pockets. Later the police removed the bodies to the City morgue for autopsy. Further investigations were underway.