KARACHI: Eight members of a family were killed and two others injured in a mysterious fire inside their home in the Mochko police limits late on Sunday night, officials said on Monday.

The victims included a woman and her seven children — four sons and three daughters. Another son of the victim mother was also injured in the fire.

Police and fire brigade officials in their initial probe believed that the mother was emotionally disturbed who set her home on fire by locking the door from inside. However, City SSP Sheeraz Nazeer told Dawn that the police were investigating the case from different aspects and they had not reached a “final conclusion” about the cause of the fire.

According to officials, four members of the family died on the spot, three others succumbed to their burns while being shifted to the burns centre of Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi while another patient died during treatment.

Police investigators yet to reach a conclusion

Another member of the family, Sajid, 18, was admitted for treatment. A neighbour, Sain Dad, 45, was also injured while trying to rescue the family.

The City SSP said that 10 members of the family were living in a single room in Malang Goth near Lucky Pahari located on Hub River Road.

Ali Bux Brohi, father of the seven victim children, had gone to the bathroom when his wife, Gulzar Bibi, 50, locked the door from inside and set it on fire.

Ali Bux told the police that he was in the bathroom when he heard cries of his children and rushed to the spot but the door was locked from inside.

His injured son, Sajid, 18, also told the police that he was woken up by a brother of his when smoke engulfed their room. He also told the police that the door was locked from inside.

A fire brigade official said that they received information about the fire at around 2.10am and they put out the fire soon.

Fire brigade chief Tahseen Siddiqi ruled out the possibility of arson behind the incident.

The seven dead victims were identified as Zafar, 22, Nazia, 16, Rehan, 14, Aqsa, 12, Ruqayya, 7, Tayyab, 4, and Naila.

SSP Nazeer said that during ghusl of the dead bodies, the key to the door was found in the clothes of the dead woman, Gulzar Bibi, which also lent credence to the initial statement of the surviving family members and neighbours that she had probably set the house on fire.

However, the SSP said that the police were also investigating whether the fire erupted “accidentally” or “something else” was its cause.

He said that so far the fire brigade officials had not submitted their report to the police about the exact cause of the fire.

Keamari DSP Mukhtar Khaskheli said that Gulzar Bibi was “mentally unstable” and as per the statement of her husband she had been getting treatment for the last two years.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2018