Five bodies found in Karachi flat, cause unknown

Police in Karachi are investigating the deaths of a doctor, his wife and their three young daughters whose bodies were found on Sunday in a seventh-floor flat at Lakhani Towers in Ahsanabad. The bodies were three to four days old and badly decomposed, Deputy Superintendent of Police Aurangzeb Khattak told BBC Urdu.

Residents called the 15 emergency line after a strong smell began coming from the flat, Khattak said. When police broke down the door, they found Dr Umar and his wife in one room and the three girls in another. One girl's body was on a bed and the other two were on a mattress, the officer said.

Post-mortem examinations have been completed, but the cause of death will not be known until chemical analysis reports arrive in three to four days, according to the DSP. Police surgeon Dr Samia said the bodies were in an extremely deteriorated state and samples of all internal organs had been taken, but no cause had been established. No FIR has been registered so far.

Khattak said no clear evidence of violence, theft or robbery was found inside the flat. The flat has been sealed and other flats on the same floor were empty. Sindh Inspector General of Police Javed Alam Odho ordered the formation of a high-level investigation team that will include senior investigators and forensic experts.

Kamran Bukhari, who lives on the sixth floor of the same building, told BBC Urdu that the family had lived there for about two and a half to three years and appeared simple and well-behaved. He said the smell was so severe it was difficult to remain nearby, and that no one in the tower knew what had happened inside the flat. Bukhari and police confirmed that Dr Umar was originally from Bahawalnagar.

Khattak said Dr Umar worked at City Hospital in Ahsanabad, but colleagues told police he had left the job a month earlier. The officer said information available to police suggested Dr Umar had been ill for some time and had been diagnosed with cancer. SSP District West Zubair Nazir Sheikh told local media that Dr Umar's brother lives in Punjab, but when contacted he expressed disassociation from his brother. Police are trying to reach more relatives for information.