LAHORE: Four members of a family were found dead in their house in Johar Town here on Friday.

Rizwan Butt, 42, his wife Sumaira, 32, and sons Arsal, 9, and Abubakr, 7, were living in the house. Mr Butt had rented out the upper portion of his house to a family who alerted police on finding no response in the morning.

The police investigators suspected that the family might have died due to suffocation because of gas leakage.

DIG Investigation Syed Khurram Ali Shah told Dawn that according to the circumstantial evidence of the scene the family would use gas iron which any member forgot to turn off before going to bed. He said gas filled the bed room leading to suffocation.

During the scene visit, he said, police experts who accompanied forensic experts found everything in order, showing no sign of resistance. Similarly, no marks of violence were found on any member of the family. The air-conditioner of the room was also working at the time when the police entered the bedroom, further minimising the chances of their survival as there was no ventilation of fresh air, he said.

The bodies were dispatched to the morgue for postmortem, the DIG said.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2018