KARACHI, Sept 17: The murder mystery of a newly-married couple, graduates of the NED university, has further deepened as police, earlier relying on the results of the much-awaited chemical report, have yet to formally charge any of the suspects in the case.

The chemical report, issued on Sept 13, confirmed that both Muhammad Azeem and Beenish were poisoned to death. They had been found dead the next morning of their wedding night in mysterious circumstances in their North Nazimabad apartment on Aug 11.

The report indicates traces of zinc phosphate in the couple’s viscera. The difference in the time of the death of the bride from that of the groom may be due to the possibility that they might have been administered the poison at different occasions or due to the body resistance of Azeem, who died at around 10am whereas Beenish died at around 6am.

Separately, the groom’s father, Abdul Majeed, the bride’s maternal uncle, Razzak, and the couple’s close friend, Samad ,have been interrogated by police at length, but none of them broke down or made a confession, a senior police officer said.

“We are looking for a piece of evidence or at least a testimony to the crime or an eyewitness account. Without these prerequisites, police are reluctant to formally arrest any of the suspects,” remarked the police officer.

Police have been of the opinion that the killings were an inside job, someone close to the family or a family member could be behind the murder.

However, the findings of the nasal and jaw fractures on Beenish during the postmortem examination are yet to be explained in the ongoing investigation and also suggest that a scuffle had also taken place, the police officer remarked.