Mysterious deaths: Family of five dies after consuming poison

Police to ascertain if it was a suicide or foul play.

KARACHI: Five members of a family were found dead inside their house in Baldia Town on Monday.

Based on initial investigations, police officials and doctors confirmed that the victims died after consuming a poisonous substance. They have, however, yet to ascertain whether the deceased had consumed the poison themselves or if there was foul play involved.

The house from which the bodies were found is situated in Sector 8, Baldia Town. The deceased included the head of the family, 40-year-old Abrar, his wife, 35-year-old Uzma, and her three sons, Hamza, 12, eight-year-old Raza and five-year-old Samad.

The police had initially claimed that the victims had lost their lives due to asphyxiation by excessive smoke inhalation. This claim was based on the observation that the deceased had been asleep in a small room which was filled with gas produced by the power generator that had been running throughout the night. The police’s claim was, however, refuted by the doctors of Civil hospital where the bodies were taken for postmortem. Though the initial autopsy report has been kept confidential, the doctors have ruled out the possibility that the deaths were due to asphyxiation.



“Our initial findings suggest that all members of the family died after consuming a poisonous substance,” a medico-legal officer at the CHK, who conducted the postmortem, told The Express Tribune. “Samples have been sent to the laboratory after which the final report will be issued.”

The deceased, Uzma, had married for the second time, after she had divorced her first husband, Junaid about three years ago. All three children were from her first husband. The couple, Abrar and Uzma, was released from jail on bail about six months ago. They were facing charges over allegedly killing a woman about two years ago.



“The doctors’ findings have changed the nature of the case,” said Baldia division SP Malik Muhammad Ehsan while talking to The Express Tribune. “As of now, our investigation will be to determine whether they were murdered or they committed suicide.” SP Ehsan said that the police was also collecting details about the woman they had allegedly murdered. “It could be an act of revenge,” he said.

The tragic incident came into notice when the family did not respond to the neighbours’ knocking at their door. When police reached the house, they broke the locks to enter the house. “All of them were dead when we reached inside the room,” the investigating officer, Ismail, told The Express Tribune. “All the family members were asleep in the same room. The couple was on their bed while the bodies of their sons were on the floor.”

Police investigators claim they have also obtained finger prints from the house which would aid them in tracing the culprits if foul play is involved. Additionally, they have also collected samples of the food that the family may have consumed the previous night and sent them to the laboratory for analysis.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2013.