KARACHI: Police said on Tuesday that the man who killed his wife and three children drugged the victims before slitting their throats after which he tried unsuccessfully to take his own life.

The gruesome incident was reported earlier today when bodies of four members of a family were found at their residence in Shamsi Society in the city’s Shah Faisal Town area. An injured man was also found at the location who was shifted to a hospital in critical condition.

Police say that the four people - one woman and three children - were killed with a sharp-edged instrument.

SSP Korangi Sajid Sadozai said that the incident appeared to be one of murder and attempted suicide with the husband the prime suspect. He has been identified as Fawad and is currently undergoing treatment. While he is out of danger, Fawad is unable to speak due to the damage to his vocal cords. “It will take him one to months to recover completely.”

Sadozai said that Fawad, believed to be roughly 45, was a sales manager at a factory. He went to work as usual and the incident took place after his return, he said.

Among those killed were Fawad’s 40-year-old wife Huma, and three children: Neha, 16, Fatima, 12, and Samra, 10.

The post-mortem of the four victims have been completed, with samples to be sent to labs while the bodies have been shifted to the Edhi morgue.

Police confirmed that Fawad called his brother in Saudi Arabia before the incident and told him about his plans. By the time his brother informed the family, Fawad had already killed his wife and children.

They found food, including biryani and gol guppay (popular savoury snack), at the residence, with investigators saying that Fawad had laced these items to drug his family.

Police also questioned Fawad’s family, including his mother. Initial investigation suggests that fights between the couple - who had been married for 22 years - were routine.

The mother told Aaj Digital that Fawad is her elder son and she lives with her younger son on the ground floor of the house while Fawad and his family live upstairs.

At around 3pm, she heard loud voices which was nothing out of the ordinary.

A little while later, she called upstairs but no one answered. “A little while later, I went upstairs with my daughter to check, we found the door closed.”

After they managed to open the door, the girls were drenched in blood. “We don’t know what happened and how…”

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Governor Kamran Khan Tesuri have sought a report on the incident from Additional Inspector General Javed Alam Odho.