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A policeman attached to the Rapid Deployment Force at the Volta Regional Police Command has been shot dead at a fuel station in Ho.

General Constable Emmanuel Nii Atseku, who was on night duty, was shot by some unidentified armed robbers who attempted to rob the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) filling station at dawn Tuesday.

According to information gathered by the Daily Graphic, the policeman was on guard at the filling station when the robbers overpowered him by first hitting him with a cement block and later shot him.

Unsuccessful operation

The robbers, though unsuccessful in their operations, escaped with the policeman’s weapon.

It is unclear whether Constable Atseku was at the station alone.

Meanwhile, the police are yet to confirm the incident.

His body has since been transferred to the Police Hospital in Accra.

Sorrowful mood

His death has thrown the Ho Police Barracks into a state of grief.

Some policemen who spoke to the Daily Graphic stated that robbery cases were increasing in the regional capital, noting that the police had become vulnerable and were unable to fight the crime because they were not well armed.

One of them claimed that the police were being overstretched, adding: “This is the situation; a policeman goes to work in the morning and again in the evening, with very little rest.”

“When this happens, fatigue sets in and we are unable to perform properly,” he added.