Four of a family found dead in Telangana's Wanaparthy, suicide suspected

HYDERABAD: Four members of a family, including an 11-yearold girl, were found dead under mysterious circumstances at their house in Wanaparthy district on Friday.
Police suspect it could be a case of mass suicide, but a freshly dug-up pit with lemons and coconuts inside it has left them puzzled as the investigators are also not ruling out some kind of a ritual (black magic) for a hidden treasure.
The deceased have been identified as Hazeera Bee (65), her daughter Asma Begum (42), son-in-law Khaja Pasha (42) and their daughter Arsin Haseena. As froth was visible on their mouths, police suspect they had era’s in the kitchen and Pasha’s body was found in the courtyard on the back side of the house. Beside Pasha’s body, cops found the pit with rose flower petals, lemons and a coconut.
Neither injuries nor resistance marks were found on the bodies. “Except on Haseena’s body which had minor scratches, there were no resistance marks or external injuries on the other bodies,” deputy SP of Wanaparthy KM Kiran Kumar told TOI. He said they would probe the case from all angles, including a superstition angle as to why lemons, coconuts and other material were kept near died after consuming a poisonous substance but were clueless under what circumstances they had died.
Hazeera was a quack who used to prescribe Unani medicines to persons coming with illhealth at her residence in Nagapur village in Revally mandal. On Friday morning when a villager came to meet Hazeera, he found her and three others lying on the floor. He raised an alarm and alerted police.
The four bodies were found lying in different places in the house. Haseena’s body was found in the front room, Asreen’s body was lying in the hall, Hazethe pit. “We will also probe the circumstances which led the victims to consume poison,” he said. Investigators said Hazeera had told her family members in 2014 that she had a dream that there was a treasure trove in her house. “She would often dig pits around the house in search of the treasure with the support of the family members and perform puja. This might explain the digging of the pit which was done in search of the treasure or for black magic,’’ the investigators said. When cops enquired with local villagers, they came to know that Hazeera’s son Mohammed Karim Pasha, who is a registered medical practitioner, resides in Nagarkurnool, 17 km away from Revally.
During a prelimnary investigation, police found that Haseena and Karim’s son had celebrated their birthdays on August 11. Police said Karim and other family members would be called for questioning. A case was registered.