May 19, 2008	Monday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 13, 1429

ISLAMABAD, May 18: The wife and two sons of an army officer were burnt after being slaughtered in the military’s heavily guarded area in the federal capital on Sunday.

The gruesome incident took place in flat No 14-F in the residential area of National Defence University at Sector E-9, where no one can enter without permission.

The victims of the dreadful incident were the family members of Col Saleem Cheema of Pakistan Army who is abroad with a delegation.

The deceased were identified as Fauzia Saleem, 38, Asher Saleem, 11, and Hamza Saleem, 9.

Five hours long autopsies conducted on the bodies revealed that all of them were slaughtered and then burnt. The bodies had deep wounds on the necks.

It further said Ms Saleem was first shot on the neck from some distance. The bullet was not found in the body despite the fact that it had no entry and exit wounds. She was slaughtered and died before being set on fire.

There is a possibility that the bullet which pierced into the neck of the victim might have exited when the killer(s) slit it.

Asher was also slaughtered to death and later his body was set on fire. However, there is a likelihood that Hamza was alive and breathing when put on fire after being slaughtered.

The incident came to light after another army officer, Col Azhar, observed smoke emitting from Col Cheema’s apartment. Oblivious to what had happened with the family inside, he called the fire brigade at around 5:10am.

The fire engine reached the spot and started rescue operation to extinguish the fire.

The flames, which had engulfed the bedroom, were brought under control which led to the discovery of three charred bodies lying on the bed. Later, the police were informed who arrived at the spot at around 10am. The assistance of police forensic laboratory was also sought to collect evidence from the crime scene.

Later, the bodies were shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences for legal process. The autopsy on the bodies was started at around 3pm and after its completion they were handed over to Ms Fauzia’s brother at around 8pm.

A knife was recovered from the spot but no bullet was found, the police said, adding the servant of the family, who was in the servant quarters at the time of the incident, was taken into custody for interrogation.