Lahore: Police register murder case after woman, three children found dead

LAHORE: The mystery surrounding the deaths of a woman and her three children in a private housing society near Kahna, Lahore, have been declared a murder case, with police registering an FIR and launching a detailed investigation.

According to police, the incident occurred between 5pm and 6pm on Friday evening within the jurisdiction of Kahna police station. The case has been registered on the complaint of a sub-inspector.

According to the FIR, the deceased’s husband told police that he found the bodies of his three children wrapped in cloth at the rear of the house, while his wife had already been shifted to hospital in critical condition, where she later died.

The FIR states that, based on the circumstances and available evidence, the children appear to have been murdered.

Police have taken the deceased’s husband and children’s father into custody for questioning and recorded his initial statement.

Meanwhile, teams from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency have been collecting evidence from the house since Friday. Forensic experts collected fingerprints, food samples from utensils and samples of items stored in the refrigerator, which have been sent to a laboratory for examination.

According to neighbours, the family had recently returned from the United States and moved into the rented house on July 1. The brother-in-law of deceased’s husband said that he had planned on returning to the US while the wife and children were to stay in the rented house. He had also visited Pakistan about six-months ago but without his family.

Residents and a nearby shopkeeper said a girl standing on the rooftop spotted the three children and alerted them. When neighbours knocked on the door, the children’s father, initially claimed that the children were not at home.

A short while later, his wife reportedly ran out of the house screaming, alleging that “this man has killed my children,” before collapsing unconscious. She later died in hospital.

According to police sources, the husband has alleged that his wife poisoned the children and claimed she had been suffering from mental health issues.

Police said investigations are ongoing, adding that the post-mortem and forensic reports will determine the exact cause of death and establish the facts surrounding the case.