Police have registered a case regarding the murders of four females in a Lyari flat. FIR No. 279/24 was filed at the Baghdadi police station on the complaint of the head of the family, Muhammad Farooq, whose son Bilal was later arrested as the prime suspect.
Although the complainant had not named any suspects in the FIR, which was registered against unidentified persons, he had expressed suspicion about the involvement of his son.
“I run a business of buying and selling animals,” said Farooq. “In my house I lived with my 60-year-old wife Shamshad, my divorced daughter Madiha, my son Sameer Ali, his wife Ayesha, their three-month-old daughter, and my 12-year-old granddaughter Aleena.”
He explained that on the night of October 18, his daughter Sameena had come to visit, and he was on his way to drop her off at Jubilee, during which time she informed him that her brother Bilal was at the house. Bilal lives separately from the family.
When they reached Nawab Khanji Road, their car broke down. Sameer, who was also with Farooq, told his father to go home, saying that he would stay there.
“When I reached home at around 3:15 am [on October 19] and knocked on the door, no one answered,” said Farooq. “I used my key to unlock the door, and when I entered, I saw Madiha lying in a pool of blood.”
He shouted for help and called his neighbour Hafeez, and also Sameer, asking him to return home immediately. He said Hafeez and Sameer arrived soon after.
“Ayesha was also lying in a pool of blood, and her daughter was found under the bed. In the TV lounge, Shamshad was lying lifeless, and in the courtyard, Aleena was found in a similar state. All four of them had their throats slit with sharp objects.”
He said Sameer called the police on 15 and went to the police station with his friends to report the incident. In the meantime, Farooq’s other daughter and relatives also arrived.
Police and the Crime Scene Unit took the bodies to Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi. Bilal also came home, with fresh cuts on his right arm, and on the fingers of his left hand. When asked about the injuries, he did not provide a satisfactory explanation.
On Sunday evening, District City SSP Arif Aziz, along with Investigation SSP Tauheed Memon, confirmed at a press conference that Bilal was arrested for his suspected involvement in the case. SSP Aziz said the incident happened at around 4am, but the motive behind the murders was not immediately clear.
He said the police talked to all the family members, adding that Bilal took time to respond, and that he had cuts on his hands, claiming that they were from broken glass.
The officer said Bilal’s explanations were not convincing, adding that given the gravity of the situation, the police eventually detained him, who later admitted to the crime.
SSP Aziz said Bilal, who was married with a daughter but had divorced his wife, became a suspect due to his suspicious behaviour, adding that Bilal was reportedly in love with another woman, whose family demanded that he provide a separate house before marriage.
The officer said Bilal asked his family for the house they were living in, but they refused, saying that it was inherited property and could not be transferred to his name. The SSP said Bilal purchased knives from Napier Road 12 days before the incident and began frequenting the house.
On the night of the murders, after his father had left to drop off his elder sister, Bilal carried out the killings, then he hid his gloves, blood-stained clothes and other items, added the officer.
The SSP said that it appears that Bilal acted alone, but the investigation is ongoing, and if others are found to be involved, they would also be brought into the inquiry. He added that the three-month-old girl has been handed over to her father, Bilal’s elder brother Sameer.
The officer said Bilal had claimed that the breakdown of his marriage as well as his family’s liberal attitudes had led him to commit the horrific crime.
Police said that based on the suspect’s identification, the murder weapon and blood-stained clothes have been recovered from the sea near the Native Jetty Bridge.
Published in News Daily on 21-October-2024.
