KARACHI, Sept 13: A newly-married couple, found dead in mysterious circumstances the morning after their wedding, was poisoned, the results of chemical reports established on Thursday. Traces of poison were found from the viscera of Mohammad Azeem and Beenish, both graduates of NED University, sources close to the chemical lab told Dawn.
A senior police official requesting anonymity said that “from the beginning of this case we were of the opinion that it’s an inside job. Now the results of the chemical report suggest that either some family member or a friend could have been behind the poisoning.”
“Police will now act in accordance with the results of the chemical report and the arrests of some family members or friends of the slain couple could not be ruled out in a day or two,” a senior police official remarked.
Mohammad Azeem and Beenish were found dead the morning after their wedding night in their apartment in North Nazimabad on August 11.
As the investigation picked up pace following the incident, DIG Zone West Falak Khursheed had remarked that “it is no outside job, but seems to be someone close to the couple who could be behind the murder.”
Earlier police were considering another possible scenario which suggested that for some reason the groom could have killed the bride and later on consumed poison.
Hospital sources who had examined the bodies said that Beenish died at approximately 6am while Azeem passed away at around 10.30am. He was rushed to the Imam Clinic by his friend Ghayur along with Azeem’s aunts, where he was pronounced dead. They then took him to Aga Khan Hospital from where his body was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
Sharing some findings a police official preferring anonymity said that spectacles were found from the bedside table of the couple’s bedroom. It remained a mystery as to whom the glasses belonged and throughout the questioning of different family members no one claimed ownership of the glasses.
Finally Beenish’s paternal uncle Razzak admitted that the spectacles belonged to him and he had earlier preferred to stay quiet.
Furthermore, an eyewitness named Babar, a neighbour of the groom’s parents who helped the family shift the bodies, told police that he saw two glasses half-filled with ‘Energile,’ an energy drink, placed at the couple’s bedside table, the police official added.
For the last two years Azeem was working at Siemens along with Ghayur, while Beenish and Zainab were the only two females in his batch of 40 students at NED University.
Mohammad Azeem has three sisters and eight paternal aunts who, according to the family, practically raised him. Beenish, on the other hand, has two paternal uncles, Razzak, an employee in a local bank, and Imran, an engineer based in Islamabad.
Background interviews further suggest that an altercation occurred during the photo session at the marriage ceremony and Azeem’s aunts boycotted the session, but a patch-up was made in the early morning.
