E-Paper
5 of Uttar Pradesh family found dead at Kupwara house: Cops
Locals said when Ansari didn’t respond to the phone calls of his co-worker in the morning, he, along with his neighbours, broke open the door and found the family members lying unconscious
Five members of a family hailing from Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor were found dead, possibly due to asphyxiation, at their rented accommodation in Kralpora village of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Wednesday, police said.
The deceased were identified as Majid Ansari, 35; his wife Suhana Khatoo, 32, and their three children -- Faizan, 4; Abu Zarr, 3, and an unnamed infant.
Ansari used to run a a salon at Kralpora market, 12km from Kupwara town.
Locals said when Ansari didn’t respond to the phone calls of his co-worker in the morning, he, along with his neighbours, broke open the door and found the family members lying unconscious.
“Health teams arrived at the spot and declared all of them dead,” said Abdul Majid, who owns a grocery shop close to Ansari’s salon.
“Ansari used to stay in Kashmir in the winters due to good business,” he added.
Kralpora block medical officer Mir Shafi said initial findings suggested that the family members died of suffocation.
“Their autopsy has been conducted, but reports are awaited,” he added.
Mir said that bodies have been sent to Bijnor in an ambulance on the instructions of the district administration.
Local station house officer Mansoor Ahmad said they have started an investigation in the case.
Recently, a retired doctor couple was also found dead in a similar manner at their house in Baramulla.
Doctors had been issuing repeated advisories to the locals against using gas heaters during winters, which is claimed to have been responsible for most of the suffocation deaths.
