RAWALPINDI: Two bro­thers with special needs died from suffocation caused by a fire in their Police Colony home in the Police Lines Headquarters on Monday night.

According to police, fire erupted in the house of the late head constable Saeed Shah, where his disabled sons Ghulam Abbas, 22, and Shahzad, 30, lived with their sister constable Shahzia Saeed and mother.

When contacted, City Police Officer DIG Sajid Kiani told Dawn that the two brothers were sleeping in their room when an electric heater fell on their bed, causing a fire and filling the room with thick smoke which suffocated them.

He said that the victims’ mother had given them a meal and left the room after shutting the door. “She did not realise that there was something wrong with her sons since they often cried due to disabilities,” the DIG explained.

But when smoke started drifting out, she opened the door and found the room filled with smoke.

The DIG said that both brothers were taken to Benazir Bhutto Hospital where they could not survive and were pronounced dead.

DIG Kiani visited the house and assured the family that they would be provided the support they needed.

He directed the SP headquarters to issue instructions to all residents of the colony to take precautionary measures while using electric appliances and gas heaters to avoid such incidents.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2021