LAHORE: A 13-year-old girl working as a maid was found strangled at her employer’s house under mysterious circumstances in Sui Gas Housing Society in Nishtar Colony on Thursday.

Police took house owner Mian Shahid and a tutor, Qari Yousaf, into custody for interrogation. The cause of the girl’s strangulation was yet not known, the police said.

A police official told Dawn that Shahid visited the police station around 2:45pm to report that his maid Iqra committed suicide by hanging herself from a wire used for hanging washed laundry.

He said the police rushed to the crime scene and found the girl lying dead on the floor while a shawl was hanging from the wire. The official said as crime scene was already contaminated by the family, police shifted the body for autopsy.

He said there were marks on the girl’s throat, adding that the autopsy report would determine if she was strangled by someone or committed suicide by hanging herself.

The official said police took Shahid and a religious tutor, who was present at the house to teach Shahid’s daughter, into custody.

Shahid told the police that Qari Yousaf, his 14-year-old daughter and Iqra were present at the house when the incident occurred.

Meanwhile, the father of Iqra, Shahbaz of Kot Momin, Sheikhupura district, was called by police who told the police that his daughter had been working at the house for the last one year or so.

Shahid, who has construction business, has wife, a 16-year-old son and a 14-year-old daughter.