Forensic offers new clues in Raza murder

Crucial CCTV footage and a forensic report have shed new light on the murder of Mir Raza Ali, the young owner of the popular dessert brand Wafflix, revealing the timeline of the discovery of his body, the arrival of police and an Edhi ambulance, and the presence of gunshot residue on his body.

According to the footage, a nursery employee was the first to spot Ali's body at 11.52am on July 29 and alerted police. Two motorcycle-riding policemen reached the scene first, followed by a police mobile.

Investigative sources said the head moharrir of Gulistan-e-Jauhar and other police officials were present at the scene, along with a policeman operating the search device. However, the former SHO of Gulistan-e-Jauhar did not reach the scene despite being informed.

An Edhi ambulance arrived at 12.50pm and left with the body at 1.46pm.

The Crime Scene Unit, however, had not reached the site even after more than two hours, inferring crime-scene evidence could not be collected, sources said.

The footage also showed that no dead body was present at the site a day earlier. On July 28, when Ali was reported missing, the nursery employee had watered the area but did not see anything unusual.

Investigators have conducted geo-fencing around the spot where the body was found and reviewed additional CCTV footage, sources added.

Meanwhile, following the exhumation of Ali's body, a medical board collected 13 samples and sent them to the University of Karachi's Forensic and Industrial Laboratory for analysis. The laboratory has now submitted its report.

According to sources, results for four samples were available, while the remaining nine had deteriorated because of decomposition. The report confirmed the presence of gunshot residue (GSR) on both hands, the waist and chest of the deceased.

Investigators believe the presence of GSR on both hands suggests that Ali may also have fired a pistol.

They suspect he may have opened fire in self-defence after sensing a threat.

Further CCTV footage showed that Ali was walking past a wedding hall on July 28. At 4.37am, a camera at the hall recorded the sound of a gunshot. Hearing the sound, the hall guard came outside and searched the surrounding area with a torch.

Seconds later, another CCTV camera captured Ali walking again, sources said.