KARACHI: Bodies of a man and woman were recovered from a pond inside the sprawling Bagh Ibne Qasim in Clifton on the second day of Eidul Azha, police said on Wednesday.

The identification of the victims could not be made till late in the night.

Boat Basin SHO Mohammed Naseer Tanoli said that the police were informed about the two bodies floating in the pond at around 10am on Tuesday.

He said the pond is 15-20 feet deep and apparently it contained ‘clean’ water. He said that the victims were aged between 28 and 30 years and it appeared that they drowned around two days ago.

Nadra’s assistance sought for victims’ identification; police believe couple drowned while swimming in around 20-foot-deep pond

A post-mortem examination was conducted on Wednesday at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

Police Surgeon Summaiya Syed said that the bodies were initially brought to the health facility on Tuesday and kept at the mortuary by the investigating officer of the police.

“The bodies were in an advanced stage of decomposition. There were no visible marks of violence,” she said.

She said that swabs and all relevant samples had been collected for a chemical analysis, DNA profiling and cross-matching.

DIG-South Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that the post-mortem examination of the bodies had been conducted and “so far, the police and medico-legal officers at the JPMC have not found any marks of violence on the bodies”.

He hinted at the possibility that the young couple might have visited the park prior to Eid and decided to take a dip in the pond to beat the heat, but drowned.

He said that the police had sought the assistance of the National Database and Registration Authority for ascertaining the identities of the victims.

He said that the exact cause of the death could only be established after the final report of the post-mortem examination.

The area SHO Tanoli said that investigators had taken samples of the water from the pond and would send these to a lab to ascertain as to whether the water contained toxic chemicals.

He added that policemen had been deployed to prevent other people from going close to the pond to avoid any such incident.

Meanwhile, Mayor Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab told Dawn that it was an ‘unfortunate incident’.

“I am in touch with police department, which is of the view that it’s a case of drowning. However, the bodies apparently contain bruises in the photos,” he said, adding that he asked the DIG-South for a ‘further investigation’ into the incident.

The SHO confirmed the bruises but said it appeared that the bruises on their faces were probably caused by birds or insects.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2024