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| Celebrated artist Gulgee found dead |
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Thursday, December 20, 2007
By Salis bin Perwaiz
KARACHI: In an incident that shocked art lovers and a legion of admirers, the country’s most celebrated artist Ismail Gulgee, along with his wife and maid, was found strangled to death at his home in Clifton on Wednesday. The bodies were three days old and the artist’s driver and other servants were missing. A case was lodged at the Boating Basin police station on the complaint of the son of the deceased, the well-known sculptor Amin Gulgee.
The Station House Officer Boat Basin Imran Zaidi said that it was between 11:30 am and 12 noon when the police were informed about the incident. The police reached the house and found the bodies of Gulgee, his wife Zareen and maid Asiya. The SHO maintained that the bodies were three days old and the smell was overpowering. The bodies were shifted to the Jinnah Post-Graduate Medical College for a post mortem and medical examination.
Amin Gulgee lived in a separate section of the same house in Clifton that had long been the focal point for art lovers in the city.
SHO Zaidi claimed that Amin had been involved in a minor domestic dispute with his parents and had not been in contact with them for some days. After the passage of three days, when his parents did not respond to his phone calls, he directed his servant to go next door and check whether his parents were home or not.
When the servant was unable to establish any contact, it was decided to smash the windows of the house and break in. When they managed to enter the house, they found the bodies of the Gulgees.
Meanwhile, the watchman, a cook and a driver were not present on the premises. The driver, it emerged, had escaped with the family car.
The body of Gulgee was found on the floor next to the drawing room, while Zareen Gulgee’s body was lying in the kitchen. The body of the maid was found on the floor of a room next to the kitchen. A bucket of oil was found in her hand. On reaching the scene, the police called fingerprint experts who began to take imprints at the scene of the crime.
The police also recorded the statement of Amin Gulgee and registered an FIR against unidentified men. Amin told the police that his family had no enmity with anyone.
Tayyab, the son of the deceased maid Asiya, said that he and his mother lived in Mehmoodabad. Some months ago, Gulgee had hired his mother as a housemaid. He said that the family then went abroad for some time and dispensed with her services. After they returned, the Gulgees contacted his mother on Friday and reappointed her.
Tayyab maintained that his mother came home everyday. When she did not come home for three days, he became anxious and went to the house where she worked and asked the watchman about his mother. He said that the watchman refused to give him any details and said that he had no information. Tayyab said that he continued to visit the house and today he found that the watchman was not present. He saw the police at the premises and later discovered that his mother had been killed.
Medical Legal Officer Abdul Razzak Sheikh of the JPMC said that the post mortem of all the three bodies was conducted and samples were sent for chemical examination.
MLO Sheikh said that there were marks of fingers on the necks of the deceased who were probably strangled to death. He had also found some signs of head injuries on the body of Gulgee.
Asked if there was any trace of poisoning, he said the possibility could not be confirmed and samples had been sent for chemical examination.
A senior investigating officer said that Ismail Gulgee owned four cars, including those with registration numbers AEJ-234, AHW-241, AMQ-1806, while one white Toyota Corolla was missing, which was believed to have been taken away by the absconding driver. The police also confirmed that several cases had previously been registered against the servants in various police stations of Clifton Town and further probe into the incident was under way.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Muhammadmian Soomro has deeply condoled Gulgeeís death.
In a message received here from Saudi Arabia, he said: “I am deeply grieved to learn about the death of Gulgee, his wife and maid servant.
“Late Gulgee made valuable contribution in the field of art and earned international stature, adding to the image of the country. His innovative creations would long be remembered by the art lovers both at home and abroad. In his death, the country has lost a great artist.
“I have directed the Sindh government to probe the mysterious circumstances leading to the death of the renowned artist, apprehend the culprits and bring them to book.”
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ISSN 1563-9479 
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