LAHORE: A man reportedly committed suicide after killing his wife, two sons and a daughter in Model Town here on Wednesday.

Basharat, 42, his wife Faiza, 39, sons Abdullah, 8, and Abdul Hadi, 6, and daughter Hiba, 5, were found shot dead in their house in the township’s Q block.

Model Town’s Superintendent of Police Mustanser Feroz said an initial inquiry had shown that Basharat was under heavy debt.

He was living with his family on the ground floor of the house and his brother Liaquat, a Wapda employee, was residing on the first floor with his son.

Circumstantial evidence indicated that Basharat shot dead his wife and children and then committed suicide, SP Feroz said. All the victims were shot in the temple.

The official said three pistols and six empty bullet shells had been found at the crime scene. There were no reports about a quarrel in the family.

Several empty bottles of beverages and juices were also found which were sent for forensic tests on the suspicion that Basharat might have intoxicated his family members before killing them.

After hearing the gunshots, the neighbours called police.

Khalid Salman, a neighbour of the deceased, said they had been living in the area since 1985 but he had never visited their house because Basharat and his brother were not very social.

Another neighbour said he came to know about the incident when he came out of the local mosque after offering Asr prayers.

Basharat’s brother told reporters that the deceased owned some agriculture land and had suffered a loss. He said he learnt about the incident from a neighbour.

The bodies were sent for autopsy.

A case was registered against Basharat after police claimed that all the evidence went against him.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play