Three homeless labourers murdered in their sleep in Clifton park

Three homeless labourers who used to turn up at a park in the upmarket Clifton neighbourhood every evening for some shut-eye and leave for work the next morning have been found murdered in their sleep by smashing their heads with a stone.

Police found their bodies on Thursday after a citizen informed them about one of them. Acting on the information received, the officials reached the park and cordoned it off before searching the entire premises.

The law enforcers then discovered two more bodies during their search of the park. A large number of people also gathered on the scene following the discovery of the bodies, but the crowd was sent away by the police to gather evidences.

District South police chief SSP Sheraz Nazeer told The News that the victims were labourers by profession and were hit in the head apparently with a stone or stones. He said that two of them have been identified with the help of the CNICs found on them, while the third is yet to be identified. Ali Hassan, son of Tanvirul Hassan, 54, hailed from Faisalabad’s Amin Town and Amsher Afzal, son of Sher Afzal, 53, hailed from Mardan.

The officer said the incident may have occurred while the labourers were asleep, adding that the police believe that the victims were homeless and used to sleep in the park. “They often used to sleep in the park and leave for work in the morning. It has been confirmed that the incident occurred while they were asleep, but we are not sure about its motive.”

He said the police were also trying to ascertain the number of the attackers, adding that the victims’ bodies were taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for carrying out medico-legal formalities and then shifted to the morgue.

SSP Nazeer said the families of the identified labourers have been informed and they are already on their way to Karachi to claim the bodies. District South Investigation SSP Tariq Dharejo told the media that their forensic teams have collected the evidences from the park. He said investigation teams have been formed to work on the case. One of the identified victims was a mason and the other was a boot polisher, he added.

The officer said that even though none of the security guards or other park employees was present at the time of the incident, the police are questioning them and others to help the investigation.

The police are also trying to investigate the case with the help of CCTV footage, but so far they have not found any major clue. They said the incident has caused panic and fear among the citizens, adding that personal enmity can be the motive behind the triple murder.