Mumbai:Thane, a bustling suburb of Mumbai, reeled under shock and disbelief over the horrifying murder of 14 members of a family by none other than one of their own kin.
As the city woke to a bright Sunday morning and the news of grisly murders poured in, a palpable sense of numbness prevailed over magnitude of the tragedy which left residents wondering about the cause behind this insane act.
The man at the centre of this ghastly incident – Hasnen Anwar Warekar – is himself not alive to tell the world what drove him to kill his own people – among them children, including two infants. Hasnen was a commerce graduate who used to prepare I-T related papers with a CA firm in Navi Mumbai.
The 35-year-old allegedly killed 14 of his family members, including his parents, wife and children by slitting their throats after sedating them and then committed suicide by hanging himself early today in Kasarwadavli area. Other victims included his sisters, niece and nephews.
One of the family members, who survived the gruesome incident, has been admitted to hospital.
Kasarwadavli, a predominately rural area, suddenly came in the national limelight and was filled with a large number of visitors, most of them media persons and police personnel, including the Commissioner.
The house where it all took place after a family ‘get together’ last night was cordoned off with two Police Inspectors guarding the main entrance and preventing mediapersons and others from going inside.
The ground plus one storey structure was surrounded by journalists, photographers and residents of Kasarwadavli and nearby areas.
Jamil Pathan, who stays in the vicinity, said he had peeped inside the house in the morning when the lone survivor was helped out by the neighbours.
“I saw several bodies lying in a pool of blood in the ground floor hall of the house. The entire floor was soaked in blood and its smell was unbearable. Seeing this from the window, I did not dare to go inside,” said Pathan who waited outside till all the bodies were taken to Civil Hospital.
Hasnen’s close friend Jamir Patel, who had studied with him, said, “I did not expect him to do such a grave act.
Something is wrong somewhere. I cannot digest that he has done such an act.”
People at every nook and corner of the city were seen discussing the horrendous murders. While property dispute was suspected to be the reason behind the murders, police said at this stage the motive could not be stated with certainty.