The police here on Wednesday found bodies of five members of a family including three females from a flat in Askari -5 in the limits of Saddar police station. According to police, the bodies were recovered on the information of the driver and added that the house was sealed as the culprits behind the incident might try to change the nature of the incident.
They said the deceased persons were identified as Arif Yousuf, 68, son of Yousuf Jalia, his wife, Zainab, 60, his son Zubair, 38, daughter-in-law Aliya and a grand daughter Rida, 14. They said the tragedy was disclosed when a driver arrived at the house to pick the victim Rida up for school rung the bell for long but nobody responded from inside. Police said the driver in his statement further informed that then he approached Arif's another daughter who also resides in the same house.
Following his approach, Arif's daughter and son-in-law came to the house and found them dead when they managed to enter the house with their duplicate keys. They said the victims Zainab and Aliya were lying on bed; Arif and Zubair were found on the floor while Rida's body was recovered from her room.
On being informed, the police and ambulances from different welfare associations reached the spot and shifted the bodies to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medico-legal formalities. Senior lady medico-legal officer (MLO), Dr Rohina suggested that all victims were killed in similar manner and added that local knife was used in their killings. She said the victims Zubair, Aliya and Rida offered stiff resistance as they had several cut marks on their bodies and added that they were murdered on early Wednesday. Replying to a question, she said it is premature to confirm that the victims had also consumed poison before they were murdered, saying that the samples were sent to the forensic lab for further examination.
Police sources said that the house was sealed and the evidences were collected from the crime scene. They suspected that more than two persons were involved behind the said killings. They said the police had recovered a knife, which was used in the said killings but the same was not disclosed, officially. They said the victim Aliya used to teach at a private school at Clifton while Arif, who had a factory in New Karachi, was presently doing nothing and added that the victim Zubair lost his sense since the closure of his call centre. They said the family belonged to Bawani community and hailed from India. Meanwhile, Aliya's brother Arshad in his statement informed police that he met his sister at her house a week ago but nobody hinted about any possible threat. Moreover, he said the family, which had no personal enmity with anyone, was living in this house for last 10 years.