SUKKUR: A man was arrested with his three sons on Wednesday after his wife, daughter-in-law, four daughters, three other sons, a granddaughter and a grandson were found butchered within his home, located in Maulvi Mohammad Saleh Indhar village of Pannu Aqil taluka in Sukkur district.

The police and neighbours said they strongly believed that the man, Wahabullah Indhar, had stabbed all the victims to death as he was stated to be suffering from some mental disorder. He had, in the past, killed his brother and served a jail term in the case, they added.

Police quoting circumstantial evidence suggested that all the victims might have been drugged before they were killed.

There was no evidence of any resistance having been put up to the suspected killer by any of the victims, a police officer said, adding that they were killed while asleep in the night intervening Tuesday and Wednesday.

The deceased were identified as Wahabullah’s wife, Ruqayya, 42; four daughters, Iqra, 18, Isra, 8, Sobia, 6, and Hajani, 5; two sons, Mahmood Ahsan, 4, Mahmood Asad, 3, (a third son aged one year remained unidentified); daughter-in-law Naseema, 19 (wife of Wahabullah’s eldest son, Habibullah); granddaughter Nazia, 3, and one-year-old grandson Ali Sher.

Police say the victims might have been drugged before being butchered as there was no evidence of resistance

Police said Wahabullah was arrested with his three sons — Habibullah, Dur Mohammad and Hizbullah — after they fled to Adilpur of Ghotki district. They were kept at an undisclosed place for interrogation, they added.

All the bodies were taken to the Pannu Aqil Taluka Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

Sukkur DIG Fida Hussain Mastoi and SSP Irfan Samoo rushed to the village and inspected the crime scene. They collected information about the incident from local residents and got the house sealed.

DIG Mastoi told local reporters that the suspect might have used a dagger to slay all the victims while they were asleep. He said Wahabullah had killed his brother five years ago and was declared “mentally retarded”. He was then jailed and later sent to Giddu Bandar for psychiatric treatment.

Police have found a freshly dug pit, spades and shovels in the house suggesting that the suspect had tried to bury the dead.

SSP Samoo said the weapon used in the crime was also found and taken into custody. He said the 11 bodies were lying scattered in two rooms and a sheltered veranda within the house.

The funeral of the victims was held at Halejvi Sharif shrine and burial also took place in the adjacent graveyard.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has called a report on the incident from the Sindh inspector general.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2020