RAWALPINDI, Oct 2: Following the burial of the four victims murdered on Tuesday, the surviving son of the deceased former brigadier was picked up for questioning, it has been learnt.

The funeral prayers were offered at an Imambargah in Morgah on Tuesday night.

Brigadier (retired) Dr Sikandar Ali Malik 62, his wife, Shahida Malik, 55, daughters – Zainab, 23, and Fatima, 20 – were found murdered in their house on the premises of Al-Shifa Eye Trust Hospital.

Initial investigation showed that traces of tranquillisers were found from the contents taken from the stomach of the three murdered women.

A police source close to the investigation confirmed that Captain Dr Haider Abbas, the son of Brigadier (retired) Dr Sikandar Ali Malik, was the focus of military investigation and had been picked up at around midnight and taken to an undisclosed location for interrogation.

When asked why Dr Haider Abbas was being interrogated by the military authorities and whether there was any evidence that pointed to his involvement in the murders, the source said he had been making conflicting statements.

“Traces of tranquillisers were found from the contents collected from the stomach of Dr Haider’s mother, and two sisters,” the source said, adding that the police already believed that the victims were given tranquilisers before being shot dead.

“No traces of tranquillisers were found from Brigadier (retired) Dr Sikandar Ali Malik’s stomach,” he said.

However, a detailed report from the chemical examiner’s laboratory is still awaited.

“Though the chemical examiner’s report is needed to prove the cause of death during trial, the initial report can also be used,” a senior doctor at a government hospital said.

After the military intelligence has interrogated him, the police would carry out their own investigation.

A four-member team led by Superintendent of Police Mohammad Haroon Joya had been formed to investigate the murders.

To a question whether the police had found any sectarian link to the murders, SP Joya denied the theory, saying that no banned outfit was involved in the killing.

“If it were a sectarian case, the killers could have targeted the family outside the house. No such sectarian incident has ever taken place in the past,” SP Joya said.

The police will be retrieving information from mobile phones of all family members, and will send finger prints, collected from the scene of the crime, for forensic analysis.