Nazia Hassan didn't die of poison or foul play: UK probe

London, Aug 14 (IANS) The legendary "Disco Deewane" Pakistani singer Nazia Hassan didn't die of poison, or any kind of foul play as alleged by the singer's brother Zoheb Hassan, according to a high profile investigation by Scotland Yard, which established that the allegations of poisoning lacked merit, Geo News has reported.

Zoheb sparked a new controversy on Thursday after saying that Nazia's testimony to a UK solicitor stated that her husband, Mirza Ishtiaq Baig, allegedly poisoned her and held her hostage.

However, as per records maintained by authorities in the United Kingdom — after a joint investigation was carried out by the Scotland Yard detectives, a team of doctors and North London's Coroner W. Dolman — Nazia died of "natural causes" and there was no involvement of poison or any other substance.

The pop singer died on August 13, 2000, but the authorities released her body five months later, on January 9, 2001, after conducting a forensic investigation led by Scotland Yard's specialist team.

After a thorough investigation into the cause of her demise, a death certificate was issued on January 9, 2001, by the local Brent Council's Registrar S. Palombo.

It was established by the investigation team that Nazia's cause of death was "pulmonary thromboembolism, deep vein thrombosis, and carcinoma of the left lung".

Zoheb and other family members of the deceased singer, including father Bashir Hassan and mother Munazza Hassan, had claimed that Nazia Hassan and Ishtiaq Baig were already divorced at the time of the singer's death.

In a statement recorded before her lawyers and witnesses, the late singer alleged that she thought she was being subjected to slow poisoning. The contents of Nazia's detailed statement, which stretched over several pages, were also known to doctors treating the singer for her cancer. She had also made allegations of domestic violence in her statement.

Nazia had alleged that she was from time to time given poisonous substances which gradually damaged her body and internal organs. She had instructed her lawyers that in the event of her death, police should be asked to carry out a full investigation. Her lawyers told police of these instructions soon and an investigation started while her body was kept at a mortuary in North London.

The Scotland Yard detectives took control of Nazia's parents' home in the North London area as well as Ishtiaq Baig's Golders Green home for many days as Nazia had been living at both the addresses prior to being shifted to the care home. The police took out forensic tests at the addresses to determine if there was poisoning involved, the report said.