Infant, parents brutally murdered at home

Police probe slain lawyer’s property disputes with kin

LAHORE:

A two-month-old girl was strangled and both her parents slaughtered in their home in a housing society in the Chung police limits. The baby’s father, a 33-year-old advocate, and mother, a housewife, were found killed in washrooms of their house with their hands tied at the back. The aged mother of the deceased Advocate Amanat Ali was also present in the house, but was not hurt.

Police said they were investigating the possibility of the involvement of a brother of Amanat in the gruesome triple murder over a property dispute. He did not show up at the crime scene after the incident, prompting the investigators to launch a search for him. The suspect had recently been released after spending several years behind bars.

The father of Amanat had also been murdered earlier over a property dispute. Initial investigations indicated that four suspects barged into the home of the victims in Agris Town near Raiwind Road. They took the family hostage on the ground floor of the double-storey house. The suspects apparently handcuffed Amanat after overpowering him at gunpoint, took him to the washroom and slaughtered him with a sharp-edged weapon.

The victim’s body was found lying on the floor, facing downwards. He was wearing a blue T-shirt and grey trousers. The white floor of the washroom was splattered with blood. His wife was found lying dead on the floor of another washroom in a similar condition. She was wearing a shalwar kameez and slippers. The two-month-old Ezal Amanat, wearing babywear, was found dead on a bed. There was no apparent mark of injury on her body.

On receiving information about the incident, a heavy contingent of police rushed to the spot, cordoned off the crime scene and collected forensic evidence. Lahore Investigations SSP Imran Kishwar said while speaking to the media at the crime scene that the couple had been murdered on the ground floor, while the old woman was also present in the home. “The police have launched investigations keeping in view different angles, including a property dispute,” the official said.

He said the brother of the deceased man had not shown up at the spot and the police had taken this angle into account also. He also disclosed that the brother of the deceased had been released from jail recently. The SSP added that the police had taken into custody several suspects and were also looking for a suspicious car that had been spotted in the surroundings. “The investigation teams are collecting evidence, including phone call data record (CDR), CCTV footage, eyewitness accounts and information about the family’s history,” he said.

An investigator shared with The Express Tribune that the police had launched a search for Amanat’s brother, Ameen, after he did not show up at the house after his relatives were found dead. He added that Ameen reportedly had a property dispute with his brother. He also had remained in prison. By the time he was released from jail, the value of the property had increased manifold, while he had lost much of his belongings during the incarceration.

The investigator said Amanat also had a dispute with a cousin of his and the police were looking into this aspect as well. The cousin was among the suspects being grilled by the police, while teams of investigators were also striving to trace Ameen and his family, he added.