‘Gruesome killings’

NZ pair questioned in Fiji after deaths of five family members

A NEW Zealand couple have been questioned and kept in Fiji after the mysterious deaths of five members of a family in the Pacific nation this week.

A one-year-old baby was found alive at the scene of the deaths, believed to be caused by the ingestion of “an alleged substance”.

Husband and wife Nirmal Kumar, 63, and Usha Devi, 54, their daughter Nileshni Kajal, 34, and Ms Kajal’s daughters Sana, 11, and Samara, 8, were all found dead, without visible injuries, in the Nausori Highlands on Monday.

Fijian police found the bodies when a local spotted the one-year-old, Samaira Kumar, and alerted authorities.

One report said the baby, now in hospital, was found sitting on top of the body of his grandfather.

Bhijiba Wati, the mother of Ms Devi, travelled to their house on the day of the deaths to help prepare for a pooja, a Hindu prayer ritual.

She told the Fiji Sun that she felt uneasy when she arrived to an empty house, and devastated when her fears were confirmed. “I couldn’t stop crying and asking God why such a gruesome killing has been done to them,” she said.

The family’s car was later discovered in a nearby supermarket. The deaths have stunned and baffled Fijians.

An autopsy suggested the deaths were due to “an alleged substance ingested by all five victims”, pending further testing.

According to state-owned outlet FBC News, police detained and questioned a Christchurch man and his wife, who are known to the family, without naming or charging them.

Police took an application to a local court to detain the pair for longer than the 48 hours permissible under Fijian law but failed.

However, the same report said a “stop departure order” which would prevent the pair from leaving Fiji had been enacted.