Two young sisters were found dead under mysterious circumstances at their residence in Lahore’s South Cantonment area on Monday, prompting police to launch an investigation and register a murder case against unknown suspects.
The deceased were identified as Kiran, 19, and Maryam, 17. Their bodies were shifted to the city morgue for autopsies.
Police said the case raised suspicions after the girls’ father, Latif, claimed that both daughters had committed suicide by ingesting poison.
The two girls were devastated by the alleged murder of their elder sister, Sumeera, 25, in Kasur, their father claimed.
Latif told police that Sumeera had married a man from Kasur district a few years ago. He said her in-laws informed him that she had taken her own life following domestic disputes.
However, Latif said that he had registered a murder case against Sumeera’s in-laws with the Kasur police and that an investigation was underway.
He further claimed that the alleged murder of Sumeera had left Kiran and Maryam in severe emotional distress.
The police, however, rejected his claim and decided to register a murder case against unknown suspect (s) on the complaint of Sub-Inspector Mohammad Yasin. A police officer said the circumstances surrounding the deaths were very tricky and required thorough investigation.
The officer added that the most concerning aspect of the incident was that the family did not inform the local police about the deaths.
“We came to know about the incident only after Kasur police informed Lahore police,” the officer said.
Following the information, the South Cantonment SHO was directed to visit the family’s residence. However, by the time police arrived, locals informed them that the family had already taken the bodies to Sheikhupura district, their native area, for burial.
A police team, led by the SHO, travelled to Sheikhupura and took the bodies into custody.
According to the FIR, police suspect the girls may have been murdered and that the family was attempting to conceal facts. During questioning, police said the family failed to provide satisfactory answers, prompting authorities to order postmortem examinations.
Forensic experts accompanying the police team collected samples from the bodies, which were sent for laboratory analysis to determine the exact cause of death.