HARIPUR: A woman and her three daughters were found dead in their house in a village of Khanpur, police said here on Sunday.

Khanpur police quoted Rafaqat Zaman, a resident of Qutba village, as saying that a milkman informed him on Sunday morning that the family of Shafaqat Zaman, the brother of the complainant, was not opening the door to get milk despite repeated knocks.

The complainant said he immediately rushed towards his brother’s house, and found the door locked from outside. However, when he entered the front room of the house he found the body of his niece, Eman Shehzadi, 9, and then bodies of Zainab Bibi, 5, Zarqa Shehzadi, 7, and of Sadaf Shafaqat, 35, the mother of three girls, in the other rooms of the house.

He said the bodies of all the victims had ropes tied around their necks, hands and feet and there were two empty juice packs and glasses.

The police took the bodies to Khanpur tehsil headquarters hospital where their autopsies were conducted. However, the police have yet to receive a report.

Hospital sources said initial examination suggested that the victims were given poison in juice and later strangled. The police registered a case against unknown accused and started investigation.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2018