Sindh IG dissolves Mir Raza probe team after post-mortem reveals firearm injury

Multiple ante-mortem injuries, firearm wound found; lawyer accuses police of pressuring family to accept suicide

Sindh Inspector General Javed Alam Odho on Saturday dissolved the investigation team probing the Mir Raza case and constituted a new five-member committee to conduct a fresh inquiry after a post-mortem examination following the exhumation of his body revealed multiple injuries, including firearm wounds, casting doubt on the earlier investigation team’s suicide theory.

The 25-year-old was allegedly kidnapped from PECHS and was found dead in bushes near a wedding hall in Gulistan-i-Jauhar last week. Police suspect he was tortured before being shot dead.

The Karachi police had ordered the exhumation of Raza’s body and directed the formation of a medico-legal board to conduct a fresh post-mortem examination. However, the process was postponed after the victim’s family objected to the newly formed medical board, eventually forcing the authorities to restore the original board.

Read: Govt U-turn clears way for Mir Raza's exhumation

The newly constituted board conducted the post-mortem examination on Saturday and found multiple ante-mortem injuries and a firearm wound on the victim’s body, effectively setting aside the suicide theory advanced by the earlier investigation team.

In view of the new findings, the Sindh IG dissolved the earlier investigation team and constituted a new five-member committee to conduct a fresh inquiry into the case.

Talking to the media, the Sindh IG said the special investigation team headed by SSP Special Investigation Unit Samiullah Soomro had been dissolved following the emergence of the initial medical report after the exhumation of Raza’s body.

He said a new investigation team had been constituted under the supervision of DIG Crime and Investigation Amir Farooqi. The team includes SSP CTD Operations Irfan Bahadur, SSP Investigation District Central Anum Tajammal and two other officers.

The new investigation team would conduct a fresh examination of the Mir Raza case and carry out the investigation in light of all available evidence and the findings of the new post-mortem, the IG said.

He said the Mir Raza case would be taken to its logical conclusion.

Read more: Mir Raza's father demands justice as police defend probe

Earlier, the post-mortem examination conducted after the exhumation of Raza had uncovered a gunshot injury, multiple ante-mortem wounds and signs of internal bleeding, lending weight to his family’s longstanding claim that he was murdered.

The post-mortem report says a firearm entry wound was found on the upper right side of Mir Raza’s back, while an exit wound was found on the left side of his chest. The bullet injury caused a fracture to the sixth rib and internal bleeding, according to the report.

The report also records injuries to various parts of the body, including the head, face, neck and chest, as well as other wounds and bruises. The medical board has concluded that the injuries found on the body were sustained before death.

Blood, tissue, skin, hair, teeth and other samples were collected during the post-mortem, while additional material related to the firearm injury was secured for forensic and chemical analysis. The final findings are expected to depend in part on the results of these tests.

Meanwhile, an audio message allegedly sent by Raza several hours before his death has also come to light, in which he can be heard discussing financial matters and payments with another person. He suggests arrangements for settling money and, at one point, proposes taking three cheques of Rs1 million each. Investigating authorities are examining the audio message, and its contents could become relevant to the wider investigation.

Also Read: Karachi court orders exhumation of Mir Raza Ali's body after flaws found in post-mortem

Speaking to the media, family lawyer Jibran Nasir said the medical board had carried out its work responsibly and that important evidence had emerged during the post-mortem.

Nasir said he had placed 14 questions before the medical board and received answers to them. According to him, multiple samples were collected and injuries were clearly visible on different parts of the body, including the face. Dark-coloured material was also found on the body, and its nature would require further forensic examination. He said the material was reportedly found up to the throat.

According to Nasir, a total of 17 samples were collected from Mir Raza’s body and sent for further analysis. The post-mortem had established that the bullet entered through the back and exited through the chest, with the firearm injury also resulting in fractured ribs, he added. An injury was also found on the thumb of the right foot.

Jibran Nasir accuses police of pressuring family

The lawyer also levelled serious allegations against the police investigation, claiming that investigators had been pressuring the family instead of pursuing the case. He alleged that family members were made to sit for hours at a police office and were repeatedly pressed to accept that Mir Raza had died by suicide.

According to Nasir, the family had maintained from the first day that the case involved murder and had consistently demanded that investigators identify those responsible. He alleged that the police appeared more focused on establishing a suicide narrative than on determining the circumstances of Mir Raza’s death.

Nasir questioned why the family’s financial and marital affairs were being discussed during the investigation and demanded an explanation from the Sindh IG.

Read More: CCTV maps Wafflix owner's final hours

The lawyer also objected to what he described as the circulation of damaging material about Mir Raza on social media and other platforms. He said portions of CCTV footage had also emerged publicly, which he claimed had caused further distress and reputational harm to the family.

Nasir called for the existing investigation team to be replaced with officers of good repute and demanded a fresh, impartial investigation. He said the family’s central demand was not the appointment of any particular team but a transparent and unbiased investigation into the death.

Family questions suicide theory

Mir Raza’s father, Mir Hassan, said the family had been insisting since August 30 that their son had been murdered but that their concerns had not been taken seriously. He alleged that police had continued to push the family towards accepting suicide as the explanation for the death.

According to Hassan, the discovery of multiple injuries and a firearm wound during the post-mortem had made the family’s longstanding concerns more significant. He questioned the basis on which the Sindh police chief had earlier referred to suicide, saying the family had repeatedly asked police to identify the person or persons allegedly responsible for his son’s death.

“If it was suicide, the evidence and report should be brought before the public,” he said, while objecting to what he described as false or damaging claims circulated about his son. Hassan said the family stood by its lawyer’s position and did not know who might be responsible for Mir Raza’s death, but believed that the police had information that had yet to be properly pursued.