Karachi women's mysterious deaths: Husband, son confess to murders

• Police surgeon says suspicious substances found in Yasin's blood.
• Head of family Muhammad Iqbal involved in witch craft, say police.
• Family is in debt exceeding Rs15m along with rented house and car.
  

KARACHI: The mystery behind the three bodies recovered from a Karachi flat has finally unravelled after the husband and son confessed to killing three women of their family, the police said on Wednesday.

As per the police, the suspects have been arrested after citing financial hardships behind the gruesome crime.

Last week, three women were found dead inside an apartment in Gulshan-e-Iqbal's Block 1 area of the metropolis.

SSP Zubair Nazir Sheikh of District East said on Monday that the deceased were a 52-year-old woman, Samina, wife of Muhammad Iqbal, her 19-year-old daughter Samreen and 22-year-old daughter-in-law Maha.

Samina’s 30-year-old son Muhammad Yasin was shifted to hospital in a critical condition. The head of the family, Muhammad Iqbal, is said to be mentally unstable, according to The News.

Police investigation has so far revealed that suspect Muhammad Iqbal, had reported the incident, and initially it was suspected that deaths occurred due to suffocation caused by a suspected gas leak.

However, the post-mortem examination found that one of the bodies was two days old from the day the police received the information.

Yasin was also found in the house in a semi-conscious state and was shifted to the hospital. Upon questioning, he also seemed hesitant to give a statement, prompting the police to arrest both the father and son.

Police said that Iqbal had mixed sedatives into a drink for his wife, daughter, and daughter-in-law.

The son fell severely ill after drinking the sedative-laced beverage, according to police.

Seeing his son’s condition, the father lost the courage to drink the sedative-mixed beverage himself.

Speaking to Geo News, a police surgeon said that the case is a very complex one and that suspicious substances were also found in the blood of the young man, Yasin, which led to the death of the three women.

Furthermore, the police officials say that during the probe, it has come to light that Iqbal is also involved in witchcraft.

The family concerned, the police added, has taken a loan of more than Rs15 million and has also rented out a house and a car.

Noting that Yasin was involved in the property business, the police say that a letter was received from the father, which is being examined. The cause of death will be revealed after the post-mortem report of the women.

Furthermore, the investigators have said that one of the deceased women, Maha, had also written a letter prior to her death.

However, they clarified that the letter written by Iqbal contained "private matters" but he did not send it.

Sindh Home Minister Zia Lanjar took notice of the incident, directing Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) East District to conduct a transparent investigation into the matter.