Man kills wife, five children in Sargodha

SARGODHA: A man allegedly killed his wife and five children with an axe in a village in Sargodha district of Punjab, police said on Monday.

The incident took place in Chak 25 South in the Bhalwal area of Sargodha district, within the jurisdiction of the Bhera Police Station, where the suspect, identified as Yaseen Mallah, attacked his family late on Sunday night.

Those killed were his wife Farukhanda, his 18-year-old daughter Noor Fatima, 14-year-old son Ali Hassan, 11-year-old son Tayyab, two-year-old son Hasnain and a one-year-old son, police said.

Police said that the suspect also injured himself after the attack and was taken to a district headquarters hospital in critical condition.

Rescue officials said that the bodies of the victims and the injured suspect were transported to the hospital for post-mortem examinations.

Police said that a case had been registered on the complaint of the brother of the deceased woman and investigations were under way.

Initial findings suggested that the killings may have been carried out over suspicions of an illicit relationship involving the suspect’s wife and daughter, police said, adding that the suspect had claimed to have acted for “honour”.

The victims’ funeral prayers were expected to be held in their village after the completion of legal formalities, police added.