Mir Raza murder case: IG admits lapses in initial probe

The Sindh police chief has said that the police were not protecting anyone in the Mir Raza murder case, acknowledging that there had been lapses during the initial investigation. "We are not protecting anyone in the case and have learned a lot from it," IGP Javed Alam Odho said while addressing a ceremony at the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD).

He said the medico-legal team had created confusion in the case and a new committee had now been constituted to address the issue. "I assure you there is no conspiracy and no one is being protected," he said, adding that once the investigation report was finalised, the government would be advised to introduce reforms and improve training in the sensitive medico-legal sector.

Responding to a question, IG Odho said the forensic machine being used by the police was American and carried an annual fee of Rs730 million. "The country cannot afford such a huge annual fee, so forensic work is being carried out manually," he said.

The IG rejected suggestions that the police investigation teams had been under pressure.

"There were undoubtedly shortcomings in the initial investigation," he said, adding that Karachi recorded more than 86,000 cases annually, making it difficult for senior officers to have complete information about every case.