Karachi man tries to take own life after killing wife, son

KARACHI: A man attempted suicide after killing his wife and a minor son in Surjani Town on Wednesday, police said.

They added that Faisal Sagheer, 45, allegedly killed his wife Sana, 35, and 10-year-old son Mohammed Ali. Later on, he attempted suicide by cutting his throat and got injured.

Surjani Town police SHO Mohammed Ali Shah told Dawn that Faisal owned a hardware shop in the area but on the day of the incident, he did not open it.

His children study the Quran at the home of his sister in the vicinity of the same area, but on that day they did not attend the class as well.

It triggered suspicion among his relatives. Faisal’s sister made calls on the cell phone of her sister-in-law, which was on, but no one responded. Ultimately, she visited the residence of her brother in Yusuf Goth near Karimi Chowrangi, knocked at the door but did not get any response.

Then she saw from a window that both her brother and sister-in-law were struggling for their lives. She raised alarm, alerting neighbours who entered the home with the help of a ladder. They took them to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where the woman and her son were pronounced dead on arrival while Faisal was admitted in critical condition.

The officer said that Sana sustained cuts while her son’s cause of death is yet to be ascertained. The couple’s two daughters remained safe.

He said it appeared that Faisal did not want to kill his son. He hinted at the possibility that he might have given tranquiliser to his family, which might have led to the death of the minor son due to the overdose. He said the couple’s daughters did not wake up till afternoon, which indicated the possibility that they might have been given a tranquiliser, but they remained safe.

The officer said the husband killed his wife by putting a piece of cloth on her face and suffocated her.

He said it seemed that the man stabbed his wife to death for some reason and later on tried to kill himself as he did not want to stab and kill his children, but one of his children died due to an overdose of drugs.

However, he said the exact cause of death of the son would be ascertained after a post-mortem examination as there were no injury marks on the body.

In a statement, the officer said when the police arrived at the spot, the house was locked from the inside.

The couple’s two daughters Bareeda and Aimal were present in the house. They told the police that they usually wake up at 10 or 11am but on that day, they woke up at 4pm, indicating a strong possibility that they were given sleeping pills or something.

The police have recovered the knife used in the incident.

“Different aspects of the incident are being probed and after completion of the investigation, an FIR will be registered,” according to the police statement.

“The case has been almost solved as a strong possibility has emerged during investigation so far that the injured man Faisal killed his wife and son and then attempted suicide,” said SSP Mastoi.

Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said the husband is alive but in critical condition with cut injuries while the wife had sustained fatal cuts.

Dr Summaiya added that the minor boy has no visible marks of violence. All samples have been collected and cause of death reserved.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2025