Woman, three children found hanging in Karachi

• Four bodies found hanging in Sohrab Goth.
• Police initially term case an apparent suicide.
• Home minister orders transparent probe.

KARACHI: Police said the bodies of a woman and three children were found hanging inside a house in the Ganna Mandi area of Sohrab Goth, with officials initially terming the incident an apparent suicide as investigators examine the case.

Rescue officials said four bodies, one woman and three children, were recovered from the house.

SSP East Zubair Nazir Ahmed Shaikh said the incident was initially being described as a suicide, adding that the conclusion would emerge only after a complete review of evidence and that all aspects of the incident were being examined in detail.

A spokesperson said Sindh Home Minister Zia ul Hassan Lanjar contacted the SSP East regarding the incident and directed that the process of investigation and inquiry be made extremely impartial and transparent. Lanjar also said the accused should soon be brought before the court.

Police said they were interrogating the woman’s husband, Najeebullah, adding that he works at the vegetable market and had contracted a second marriage with an Afghan woman.

Among the deceased are 30-year-old Fatima, 10-year-old Sonam, 3-year-old Arzoo, and 2-year-old Arman, police said, adding that the woman was from Afghanistan while the husband was from Layyah.

Earlier this month, three women were found dead inside a house in Gulshan-e-Iqbal's Block 1 area of the metropolis, according to police and rescue officials.

One man was also found in an unconscious condition, said the rescue officials.

The SSP East, in a statement, said that the deceased women were mother, daughter, and daughter-in-law. The police official noted that the family’s young son alerted police to the incident.