KARACHI: Police have launched an investigation to ascertain possible motives behind the recent killing of a woman and her three children in Gulistan-i-Jauhar and said they were treating the woman’s husband as the primary suspect on the basis of initial evidence suggesting his involvement in the killings.

Bodies of the victims, Saima, 35, her two sons, nine-year-old Ashad, and seven-year-old Shazain and two-year old daughter, Amar, were recovered from their home in Sher Muhammad Goth, Block-5.

The police had registered a murder case on the complaint of the woman’s father, Mohammed Aslam Baloch, and arrested her husband, Arshad Ali, over suspicion of his involvement in the murders.

The suspect was presented before a court, which remanded him in police custody for three days.

East-SSP (Investigation) Ameer Saud Magsi told Dawn that the suspect was a drug addict was being interrogated by the police. “So far, he is denying the act but he is the prime suspect due to the evidence police got during initial investigation.”

Speaking about the victims’ autopsies, Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told Dawn that this was perhaps the most terrible of post-mortem examinations she had seen so far. “All had sustained multiple superficial and deep injuries by sharp-edged weapons. The cause of death was ascertained to be excessive blood loss due to multiple injuries and slit throats, leading to cardio respiratory failure in all cases,” she added.

Area SHO Fahadul Hasan said that the suspect used to take drugs almost on a daily basis and allegedly beat his wife regularly. He said the suspect was asking his wife to get cash from her father to bear the cost of his addiction.

The SHO added that the suspect had also sold his five-six plots because of chronic issues of addiction. He said the family of the suspect had been living in Karachi for the last 40-50 years.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2023