Judicial commission grills doctor over errors in Mir Raza's first post-mortem report, calls it 'criminal negligence'

A judicial commission headed by Sindh High Court (SHC) Justice Omar Sial on Tuesday grilled Medico-Legal Officer Dr Usama Sheikh, who conducted the first post-mortem examination of Mir Raza Ali, over discrepancies in his report and the circumstances surrounding Raza’s death.

“Do not mislead the commission. A young man has been murdered. There will be divine retribution. You are completely wrong. This is not a mistake; it is a crime; it is criminal negligence," commission head Justice Sial criticised the post-mortem report while questioning the doctor.

A judicial commission was formed to probe the death of young Ali, who was allegedly kidnapped from PECHS before his body was found in bushes near a wedding hall in Gulistan-e-Johar on July 29. The case had initially been surrounded by uncertainty over whether he had been murdered or died by suicide. The initial post-mortem findings contained discrepancies, raising questions about the circumstances surrounding his death and prompting further scrutiny of the report.

Appearing before the commission today, Sheikh said he had completed his MBBS in 2016 and joined Jinnah Hospital in 2021. He said he had been performing medico-legal duties and working as a police surgeon.

Commission head Justice Umar Sial asked whether he had received training at a major government hospital; Sheikh said he had not, saying that he had instead completed a two-year course to work as a police surgeon.

The commission examined photographs of the body and the post-mortem report during the proceedings, then Justice Sial questioned Sheikh about his findings, including the condition of the body and the estimated time since death.

Sheikh said that when he saw the body in the morgue, both hands were open.

Justice Sial questioned how the report had estimated that the body was between two and three days old, noting that Ali had gone missing on July 27 and his body was recovered on July 29.

“You have no evidence to determine how old the body was,” Justice Sial said, questioning the basis for the estimate.

Sheikh said he had collected samples of the shirt, liver, lungs, stomach contents and blood from the body and handed them over to Sub-Inspector Nadeem Mughal.

The doctor said the blood samples indicated the presence of an intoxicating substance.

Justice Sial also questioned Sheikh over his conclusion regarding the cause of death.

Sheikh said Ali had died from a gunshot wound and that he had found no other marks on the body apart from a bullet injury. He also said there were no signs of broken bones or fractures.

Justice Sial also asked whether anyone had instructed Sheikh to alter the report.

“This is not a court, it is a commission. Tell us clearly, did anyone ask you to change the report?” he asked.

Sheikh replied that the report was entirely his own. The proceedings also focused on alleged pressure and communications involving police officials.

Sheikh told the commission that DIG East Farrukh Lanjhar had called him and asked him to come to the Chief Minister’s (CM) House. He said he declined and asked for an official letter instead. He said the official was seeking a timeline from him.

Sheikh said he was later called to the CM House by the Additional Inspector General Azad Khan and went there accompanied by his father. He denied facing any pressure over the post-mortem.

“I had no pressure on me,” Sheikh said.

He also told the commission that he had completed the work within 24 hours.

During the hearing, Sheikh was asked whether he was still serving as a police surgeon and where he currently practised. He said he also ran a small clinic. The proceedings became tense when Sheikh was repeatedly interrupted for providing information in stages.

“You are speaking in instalments, like the post-mortem report,” Justice Sial remarked.

He then directed the doctor to disclose all relevant information at once.

“I have told you once: tell us everything. Whatever you say will be recorded,” Justice Sial said.

Sheikh also said he had been summoned by DS Siraj Lashari. He told the commission that he had written to the health secretary on August 21, asking for a halt to what he described as a media trial.

During the hearing, Sheikh referred to objections raised by Dr Samia, saying he had already responded to them.

Justice Sial, however, directed him to focus on his own account.

“Do not talk about Dr Samia. Talk about yourself,” he said.

Sheikh’s statement before the commission was subsequently completed.

Raza’s parents also recorded statements before the commission

The mother of Raza told the commission that she got to know that her son was missing at 4:40am.

“I found out at 4:40am Haisam called and told me that Raza’s social media accounts had been deleted,” she informed Justice Sial, adding that Raza’s friend Haisam also told Raza’s fiancée.

“I checked and found that all of Raza’s belongings were still at home. I woke my daughter. Shortly afterwards, Raza’s friend Haisam and Raziq arrived at the house. Raza’s father also arrived, along with the shop employees.”

She said that Raza’s father then called 15, the police emergency number, to report the incident.

Raza’s father told the commission that he contacted police through an application between 5:40am and 5:45am and later went to Ferozabad police station, where an officer refused to register an FIR.

“Instead of registering a report, the police asked us to bring a photograph and insisted my son may have left the house out of anger,” he said, adding that he reached the station at around 6:15am.

He then told Justice Sial that they were able to register an FIR with the police only after they drew influence from someone in Islamabad.

"We also had some other people speak to the SHO to convince him to register an FIR at around 4:30pm"

Raza’s mother said that on July 29 she contacted Haisam to ask if there was any information about her son. Later, Raza’s business partner Mohammad Ahmed Bhardey, his brother Abdullah Bhardey, Haisam, Rafi Bhardey and Wasi arrived at the family’s home at around 2pm.

In her testimony, she claimed Ahmed told her that they had seen CCTV footage showing Raza taking a gun from a guard. She said the family was told that the footage was from around 3:30am. When she asked Ahmed to show her the CCTV footage, he sent her two videos — one showing a car being parked and another showing someone taking out a gun.

She also revealed that Abdullah sent her husband a voice message claiming that Raza owed Rs22,000 for chocolates.

Read more: Mir Raza death not a suicide, SHC told

Raza’s father told the commission that the family was on its way to the hospital when Ahmed sent a message suggesting that the gun-related video should be shown to police.

The family also revealed that they approached the ride-hailing company to give the drop-off coordinates of Raza, which was denied, but they eventually gave them the number of the driver. On contacting the driver, they learnt that their son was dropped off near a guesthouse.

As they continued to probe, a security guard at the guesthouse said it was a den of illegal activities.

“When we showed Raza’s photograph, there was a commotion in both sections of the guesthouse,” the victim’s mother stated, adding that four to six men arrived on motorcycles and said that three people had jumped over a wall and fled towards the road.

The men identified themselves as water board employees, she underscored.

Raza’s father was later able to catch the two men on the run and was able to go through all the rooms of the guesthouse to find Raza.

“The family was watching CCTV footage when a police mobile from Johar arrived, and the cops asked us what we were doing,” the victim’s father told Justice Sial.

In response, the mother of the victim told the cops that they were looking for their son and shared his photograph with them.

“It was then that the police told us that they found an unidentified body near the nursery.”

Edhi Foundation volunteers Javed and Mohsin also told the commission investigating that police did not contact them after they shifted the body of the victim to Jinnah Hospital in their presence.

“The police mobile was already there before we arrived. Police officers were present, but no one helped us lift the body,” the volunteer said, adding that the duo took the body to Jinnah Hospital. “Since then, the police have not contacted us.”

Javed and Mohsin, were summoned before the commission to record their statements regarding the recovery of Raza’s body.

One of the volunteers told the commission that he had received a call before 1pm and reached the location thereafter.

He said that when they turned the body over, they discovered that the victim had suffered a gunshot wound and the face was “extremely decomposed”.

The volunteer further told the commission that the location where the body was found was not a public place frequented by people without any reason.

During the proceedings, Advocate Jibran Nasir pointed out that the Crime Scene Unit had not visited the location before the body was shifted to Jinnah Hospital.

Jibran Nasir says commission proceedings proved his ‘botched probe’ claim right

Speaking to the media outside the SHC, Nasir said his claims of a botched probe were proven right during the judicial commission’s proceedings

“Developments in the Raza case are now supporting the concerns I had been raising since the beginning,” he said.

Referring to Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya, Nasir said her appearance before the relevant authorities would help clarify several aspects of the case.

Nasir claimed he had raised questions with the police surgeon on August 1, particularly regarding the direction from which the bullet had been fired. According to him, he had maintained that the bullet wound indicated that the shot had been fired from the front.

He further alleged that he had written to the chief minister, claiming that the MLO Dr Sheikh had been questioned at the CM Office.

“Tell me, has it ever happened in a suicide case that an MLO’s statement is being recorded at the CM's office?” he asked during the press conference.

The lawyer also questioned why AIG Azad had allegedly been summoned to the CM's office on August 9 and called for an explanation regarding the circumstances surrounding the meeting.

Nasir also claimed that only a head clerk appeared to have conducted the relevant investigation at the scene of the crime.