Pakistan (MNN) ― Three Pakistani Christians have allegedly been poisoned by their employer, Compass Direct reports. Imran Masih, 29, and Irfan Masih, 25, were found dead at the Ferozewala Pul Banquet & Marriage Hall. Aakash Masih, 23, is struggling to survive in the Intensive Care Unit of Civil Hospital Gujranwala, in Punjab Province.
"It appears from the position they were in that they were forced to consume some kind of poisoned drink, or a drug, and they were left there to die," said their father, 47-year-old Yousaf Masih. "The administration of the banquet and wedding hall did not call a hospital or take them to a hospital -- instead they called us after the death of two of our loved ones."
The alleged murderers -- Imtivas Warriach, owner of the Ferozewala Pul Banquet & Marriage Hall; and hall manager Abid Virk -- remain at large. Both are Muslims. The Peoples Colony police station has registered a murder and deception case against them. According to a police officer, the two men will be arrested soon.
The three brothers had worked for the wedding/banquet hall since 2005 and never received their full wages. As a result, they left the job recently to look for other work. On December 11, as the hall was in the midst of a very busy season, Warriach called to beg the three men to return to work. Their younger brother, Javed Masih, received the call.
"The owner and manager of the wedding hall called me in the early morning of Dec. 11 and pleaded for my three brothers to rejoin and start working," Javed Masih said. "They promised to reimburse their previous outstanding wages, as well as pay them a Christmas bonus and overtime. At this, my brothers agreed and went to work the next morning."
Javed Masih, 21, also received the call from Warriach announcing that his brother, Imran, lay dead on the hall floor. Yousaf Masih explained that Warriach and Virk had threatened his sons in the past and clearly despised them because of their faith.
"On demand of their daily wages, the
owner and manager had threatened them that they would continue to work without
payment or face the dire consequences," Yousaf Masih said. "After my sons
rejoined as sanitation workers, both Warriach and Virk started to make fun of
them for leaving the job previously. Both the Muslim men mocked my sons for
being Christian and called them by pejorative names such as ‘Choohra.'"
The bodies of Imran and Irfan Masih have been moved to the morgue at Civil Hospital Gujranwala for autopsy.
