KOHAT, Sept 2: A man and three other members of his family were gunned down allegedly by his sons from his second wife over a property dispute in Garhi Dhodiwal here on Wednesday.

Police said that the head of the family, Mustafa, was shot in the head, while his wife, Shah Sultana, 16-year-old son Murtaza and 11-year-old daughter Tayyaba had apparently been strangled and then shot.

The investigation official said that Mustafa had been shot dead while the others were strangled before being shot to make it look like a domestic dispute.

The police and the neighbours also believed that Murtaza had committed suicide after killing his family.

However, after detailed investigation, police learnt that the seven stepsons of Murtaza from his other wife were missing from their homes and despite many phone calls none of them replied. They have been nominated in the FIR and declared absconders.

Meanwhile, the bodies of the slain members of the family were shifted to KDA hospital for autopsy and police was still awaiting the medical report on Friday.

According to sources, the accused entered the house soon after iftar on the chand raat and killed the whole family after exchanging hot words with their father and fled away.

The names of the accused sons of Mustafa are Khalil, Tahir, Abdul Hameed, Rasheed, Jalil and Mudassar. They were enraged after their father gifted all property to his late son Murtaza.