Baby found sitting among dead family of five in Fijian field
A New Zealand couple have been questioned and kept in Fiji after the mysterious deaths of five members of the same family this week in the Pacific nation.
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", this week.
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 in the Nausori Highlands on Monday without visible injuries.
Fijian Police found the bodies when a local resident 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 police arrived that afternoon to confirm her fears.
"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.
A post-mortem examination suggested the deaths were due to "an alleged substance ingested by all five victims", with further tests to come.
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 has been enacted.
A Fiji Sun report said extended family members were now gathering in the Nadi suburb of Legalega, where the family resided, to grieve and plan the funerals.
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