BAHAWALPUR: A couple and their three teenage sons were found shot dead under mysterious circumstances at their house in Model Avenue in the limits of Sammasatta police station.

District Emergency Officer (DEO) Baqir Hussain of Rescue 1122, Bahawalpur, told Dawn that a neighbour was asked on the phone by a relative of the victim’s family to check as they were not taking his repeated calls.

He said the neighbour informed the Rescue 1122 about the matter, after which a team of rescuers rushed to the scene.

The DEO said that on reaching the Model Avenue, the rescuers found the family’s house locked.

As the rescuers entered the house after breaking open the door, they found the bodies of the husband, Kashif (40), his wife Arooj Khan (36) and sons Jahanzeb Khan (15), Abdullah (13) and Abdul Wahab (9), lying there, carrying bullet marks, while the four-year-old daughter of the couple, Tasma Bibi, was unconscious, without any injury.

The rescuers immediately shifted the minor girl to the emergency ward of the Bahawal Victoria Hospital (BVH), where she is said to be stable.

On receipt of information about the incident, Regional Police Officer (RPO) Rai Babar Saeed, District Police Officer (DPO) Asad Sarfraz, along with police teams, visited the house and were briefed about the situation.

The DPO said that an investigation would be conducted into the tragic incident from all possible angles.

A police spokesperson said that the bodies have been shifted to the BVH’s mortuary for the postmortem examination.

He said the forensic and crime scene units have collected evidence from the scene and the matter is being probed into by police investigators.

Regarding the registration of an FIR, he said that police were waiting for complainants.

Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Usman Anwar has taken notice of the incident, seeking a report from the RPO.

The IGP has directed the DPO to investigate every aspect of the incident, and arrest the culprits as soon as possible, adding that justice should be ensured for the bereaved families.

Found dead

A security guard of the Quaid-i-Azam Medical College (QAMC), Bahawalpur, was found dead in his house in Akhtarabad on Jhangiwali Road on Monday.

According to police and Rescue 1122 officials, a tenant living on the first floor of the house of the deceased, Malik Abid Hussain, complained that a foul smell was emanating from the second floor of the building.

On opening the door of the house’s portion, three to four days old body of the deceased was found there.

The rescuers shifted the body to hospital, while the police have started investigation.

Police said they were contacting the family of the deceased living in Lahore and his brother, who lived in the same area.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2024