Woman ‘poisons children, commits suicide’

Husband finds family's bodies in their home upon return from Nawabshah

The body of a woman, along with those of her two daughters and a son, was found at a house in Gulshan-e-Hadeed on Tuesday night.

Police suspect that the woman, 35-year-old Asma, committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan after poisoning her children, eight-year-old Javeria, five-year-old Alisha and three-year-old Baqir, to death.

Speaking on the matter, Steel Town SHO Shakir Ali said Asma's husband, Abid, had left for Nawabshah on August 7 and found his wife and children dead when he returned on Tuesday night.

According to police sources, Asma's body was found hanging from a ceiling fan and her children's bodies lying on a bed. They suspect that the children were poisoned with insecticide a few days ago, as three packets of insect-killer were found in the house, while Asma committed suicide a day before the bodies were found.

Meanwhile, Abid, in his statement to the police, claimed that he and his wife were having a domestic dispute and that was why Asma had killed herself and their children, said SHO Ali.

On the other hand, a neighbour, who identified himself as Abdullah, told The Express Tribune that the couple did have a fight but the issue was resolved before Abid left for Nawabshah. He said that he and other members of his family had seen Asma alive on Monday, a day before the bodies were found, but later, when a foul smell began emanating from the house they assumed that it was from an animal's corpse.

Another neighbour, on the condition of anonymity, said that the couple was leading a happy life but they suddenly started having fights in recent days. He added that Abid had left for Nawabshah with Asma's brother, Haq Nawaz.

The police have launched an investigation into the matter, and the bodies were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medico-legal formalities.

The deceased were laid to rest in the Steel Town graveyard on Wednesday.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 13^th, 2020.