New Autopsy Findings Trigger Major Shift in Investigation
The Sindh government has decided to seek a judicial inquiry into the death of young Karachi businessman Mir Raza Ali after fresh medical findings raised serious questions about the original investigation.
Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar announced that the government would ask the Sindh High Court to nominate a judge to supervise an independent inquiry into the case.
The decision follows intense public scrutiny after Ali’s body was exhumed and subjected to a second post-mortem examination.
Mir Raza Ali, a 25-year-old Institute of Business Administration graduate and owner of the food business Wafflix, disappeared on July 28.
His body was discovered the following day in bushes near Shahi Qila Ground in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar area.
The body had a gunshot wound.
Police initially examined the possibility that Ali had died by suicide, while his family consistently maintained that he had been abducted and killed.
Concerns about the original post-mortem eventually prompted Ali’s father to approach a judicial magistrate for permission to exhume the body.
The court approved the request.
The process then became controversial after the Sindh government repeatedly changed the composition of the medical board.
Following objections from the family, the original eight-member medical board was restored and the second examination was conducted.
Preliminary findings from that examination revealed multiple injuries.
Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said Ali suffered injuries to his head, face, feet and right side.
Fractures were also identified.
She said the bullet entered from Ali’s back after fracturing a rib and exited from the front.
Doctors also found an unidentified dark substance in Ali’s mouth and throat.
DNA samples, chemical samples and material for gunshot-residue testing were sent to laboratories.
Dr Syed said the final cause of death would remain reserved until laboratory reports were received.
The findings nevertheless prompted police to add a murder charge to the existing case.
Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code was added to the FIR following the preliminary second post-mortem findings.
The case had originally been registered under a kidnapping provision.
New Police Team Formed as Two Officers Are Suspended
The judicial inquiry was announced after senior Pakistan Peoples Party leader Faryal Talpur called for a transparent and comprehensive investigation.
She said anyone found responsible should face legal and disciplinary action without discrimination.
Talpur also stressed that the victim’s family must receive justice and that the public should be informed transparently about the case.
Later, Home Minister Lanjar and Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab visited Mir Raza Ali’s family and met his father, Mir Hussain Ali.
Lanjar said the provincial government had decided to request a judicial commission supervised by a Sindh High Court judge.
He said the government would write to the chief justice of the Sindh High Court requesting the commission.
Mayor Wahab said Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had chaired a four-hour meeting in which officials reviewed the case and the investigation in detail.
The government has said the judicial commission would examine the different medical reports and oversee the new police investigation.
Sindh police have also removed the previous investigation team led by Special Investigation Unit SSP Dr Samiullah Soomro.
A new five-member team has been placed under DIG Amir Farooqi.
The team includes senior officers tasked with examining physical, forensic, technical and circumstantial evidence from all relevant angles.
According to the investigation order, the new team must identify and preserve any additional evidence that emerges.
It is also required to report progress regularly and submit its findings to the relevant court within the required period.
Home Minister Lanjar said Ali’s family could recommend a police officer they trust for inclusion in the investigation.
He also acknowledged that the original crime scene was not preserved according to required standards.
Karachi police chief Azad Khan has meanwhile suspended Sharea Faisal DSP Muhammad Arshad Afridi and Gulistan-e-Jauhar SHO Kamran Qureshi.
Police said the officers were suspended over failures involving preservation and proper investigation of the crime scene after Ali’s body was discovered.
Sharjeel Memon Rejects Social Media Allegations and Approaches NCCIA
The case has also become the subject of intense speculation on social media.
Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon has approached the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency over online claims involving himself and his son.
Through his lawyer, Memon filed an application against unidentified individuals accused of spreading what he described as false and malicious material.
Some social media posts had alleged that Memon owned a guest house where Ali was supposedly tortured and killed.
Other posts made claims involving Memon’s son and his movements after Ali’s death.
Memon has categorically denied those allegations, saying they have no factual or evidentiary basis.
His lawyer has asked the NCCIA to identify those responsible and take action under applicable cybercrime laws.
No publicly verified evidence cited in the reports reviewed establishes Memon or his son’s involvement in Mir Raza Ali’s death.
Home Minister Lanjar also said that investigators had so far found nothing indicating that a high-profile individual was behind the killing.
The case will now proceed on two major fronts.
The new police team will continue collecting and analysing evidence, while the proposed judicial commission is expected to independently examine the investigation and conflicting medical findings.
Final conclusions about exactly how Mir Raza Ali died, and who may be criminally responsible, will depend on the completed forensic reports, judicial inquiry and continuing police investigation.
