Capital crime: Five members of a family found killed

Police suspect head of the family committed suicide after killing the rest.

FAISALABAD:

Five members of a family were found killed at their house in a Tobe Tek Singh village on Saturday morning.

Rajana police said it appeared that Niaz Ahmad Jatt, 41, had committed suicide after stabbing his wife Abida Bibi, 38, and children Hamza Niaz, 8, Zuha, 4, and Maha, 1. They said Jatt, a resident of Chak No256-GB Adda Phaloor, was shot in his head and the rest of the family stabbed.

SHO Bahar Husain Bhatti said a pistol and a dagger had been found from the house. He said the bodies had been sent to the Toba Tek Singh district headquarters (DHQ) hospital for an autopsy.

Talking to The Express Tribune, some neighbours rejected the explanation on the grounds that the couple was known to enjoy a happy relationship. They said the killers might have shot Jatt and butchered the rest of the family to mislead the police. “I never heard about an argument between Niaz and Abida. I can’t believe that he would do such a thing,” Muhammad Umar said.

Aslam Ahmed, another neighbour, said the family had been to a pilgrimage to Mecca a few weeks ago.

Jatt’s elder brother Ejaz Ahmad, however, said that the deceased had appeared to be upset since returning from Saudi Arabia.

“When I asked him about it he denied it and changed the topic,” he added.

Ahmed, a complainant in the FIR, said he had last met Jatt on Friday night. The bodies were discovered by police who were called to the scene by some neighbours on Saturday morning. The FIR quoted them as saying that they were alarmed at not seeing anyone of the family in the morning. This, they said, was unusual as both Jatt and Abida Bibi had been early risers.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 15^th, 2012.