Grisly: Woman, child found dead

Bodies of Sabeen, 35, and her niece Shanza, 7, were discovered by police in a washroom inside the house.

ISLAMABAD:

A woman and a child were found dead in a house in Sector F-11/2 in Islamabad on Saturday, according to the police.

The bodies of Sabeen, 35, and her niece Shanza, 7, were discovered by the police in a washroom inside the house, after they responded to a robbery report and searched the building.

The investigation officer (IO) of the case told The Express Tribune that the bodies had been left inside a polypropylene garbage bag in the washroom. The IO said the police found no signs of theft or robbery in the house. The police believe the victims might have suffocated. “There were no obvious marks of torture on the bodies,” said the IO. “The apparent cause of death seems to be asphyxiation.”

Shalimar Police Station House Officer Shaukat Thabal said they have detained Sabeen’s husband Kashif Shehzad and are looking at him as a suspect. He was not in the house at the time the police arrived.

Sources said that Shehzad had rented the first floor of the house, while the landlord lived on the ground level. They added that Shehzad called the landlord’s servant earlier in the day and told him to leave the house. Instead, the servant called the police, thinking that a robbery or other crime was about to take place.

The Shalimar police said the investigation was still under way to determine the motive behind the alleged murders. They added that Shehzad and Sabeen’s infant daughter is missing.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2014.