"Things I do for love..."
The famous Jamie Lannister one-liner would be the first thing fans of Games of Thrones would remember after hearing what happened in the Khairpur district of Pakistan's Sindh province in August. However, the Pakistan woman seems to have done far worse than pushing down a child...
According to reports, the young woman was arrested for the murder of 13 members of her immediate family for standing in the way of her marriage. As instructed by his lover, the woman poisoned her family to death so that they couldn't prevent their union. The victims of the incident included the woman's parents, three brothers and four sisters.
Horrific crime
The accused duo were identified as Shaista Brohi and her lover Amir Bakhsh Brohi. Shaista Brohi's father Gul Baig was against their relationship as they were cousins. According to an Arab News report, the accused told the police that they didn't want to run away to live the life of their dreams, instead, they decided to "kill everyone" so that they "could marry freely."
The victims of the lovers were identified by Dawn as Gul Baig, his wife Gulzadi; their three sons, Manzoor Hussain, Dibar and Dildar; and four daughters, Khatoon, Samina, Hajiani and Mariam; as well as immediate relations Asghar, Mohammad Bakhsh and Shehzado.
Shaista Brohi was given a liquid by Amir, asking her to mix it in the food served to the family. On August 19, she reportedly mixed it in dough used for making rotis for the family. The Brohis were a joint family and ate from the same kitchen. While eight people died immediately after being taken to the hospital the same day, five more passed away while undergoing treatment.
Food poisoning or...?
Initially, the Khairpur Police doubted that it was a case of food poisoning. The family used inconsumable stale milk, leading to the tragedy, they thought. However, it was only a matter of time before they found it odd that a member of the family was unharmed despite being at home when the poisonos food was served. Shaista Brohi wasn't lactose intolerant, after all.
This led to the police sending samples to the Sukkur Chemical Laboratory to identify if it was the contaminated milk that claimed the lives of the family. The results showed insecticide and benzodiazepine content in the bodies of all victims. Benzodiazepines are a class of prescription drugs that act as depressants to slow down the brain and nervous system.
Thus, they interrogated Shaista Brohi and the shocking truth came to light. Both the suspects had confessed to having committed the crime, the police told the press.
