ISLAMABAD: A couple was found murdered in their residence located in Banigala.

According to police, the victims were identified as retired Maj Shahid Rehman and Amna Shaima.

The residence where the incident occurred is located in a high security zone.

The victims’ son found them dead in their house on Monday night and later informed police who reached the spot and shifted the bodies to the hospital for legal procedure.

The victims’ son, Azan-i-Ali, a banker by profession, said he visited his parents on Aug 1 at 6:00pm and spent a good three hours with them.

Autopsy report to reveal exact cause of death, police official says

On Aug 2, he called his mother twice. Once at 8:53pm and then again at 9:21pm but got no response.

Later, Azan reached his parents’ house at 10:00pm, only to find it completely dark with the gate locked from inside. He jumped into the house over the wall of an under-construction house and later found his parents’ dead bodies.

Over the incident, a murder case was registered at Banigala Model Sub-Divisions against unidentified people, police said.

A senior police officer told Dawn on condition of anonymity that there was a possibility that the couple was poisoned. An autopsy is being carried out and samples have been sent for forensic testing.

The police also inquired about the matter from neighbours, who told officials that there was no response from the house since the morning of Aug 2. There is a possibility that they were murdered during early morning, the official said.

There are also reports indicating that the couple had been receiving threats from some criminals, he said, adding that burglars had broken into their house a few years ago who were later arrested and convicted. Investigators of the case are also looking into the murders from this angle.

Banigala Model Sub-Divisions Assistant Superintendent of Police Haider Ali, when contacted, told Dawn that there was no mark of injuries on the bodies. The cause of death will be ascertained as soon as the autopsy report is out, he added.

About threats to the couple and the burglary incident, the ASP replied that the burglary at their house took place a long time ago and investigation will reveal details in this regard.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2021