Commission grills doctor over Mir Raza autopsy

Says discrepancies in reports amount to 'negligence' or 'facilitation of murder'

KARACHI:

The first hearing of the judicial commission probing Mir Raza's death on Tuesday laid bare a series of troubling questions surrounding the investigation, from conflicting post-mortem reports and alleged lapses in evidence handling to the police response to his disappearance, prompting the commission to question the doctor who conducted the initial autopsy whether the discrepancies amounted to "negligence" or even "facilitation of murder".

The first proceedings of the commission, headed by Sindh High Court Justice Umar Siyal, also examined the police handling of Raza's disappearance and the recovery of his body, with his family alleging delays in registering the FIR, independent collection of CCTV footage and questionable handling of key evidence.

Dr Usama Sheikh, who conducted the first post-mortem, was questioned extensively about his qualifications, medico-legal training and findings. Asked about his experience, Dr Usama said he had conducted more than 100 post-mortems, although only around 25 to 30 had been performed after he completed his relevant diploma.

The commission displayed photographs of Raza's body on a projector and asked Dr Usama whether his report contained any reference to burn marks on the hands or body. The doctor replied that there were no burn marks but that the colour of the body had changed.

The commission then questioned Dr Usama over anaesthetic substances detected in samples taken from the body. He said blood, liver, stomach contents and the victim's shirt had been collected and handed over to Sub-Inspector Nadeem Mughal, adding that anaesthetics could remain detectable in blood for eight to 12 hours.

Justice Siyal also noted that the final report differed substantially from the original and that the handwriting on the two reports appeared different. Asked why the report had changed after the exhumation, Dr Usama said the final report was prepared in light of chemical examination reports obtained after the body was exhumed. "Is this a mistake, negligence or facilitation of murder?"

The commission also questioned discrepancies regarding the condition of Raza's hands. When Dr Usama said both hands had appeared open when he examined the body in the mortuary, Justice Siyal sarcastically asked whether "plastic surgery" had taken place there, referring to differences between the doctor's account and subsequent observations.

The commission subsequently recorded statements from Mir Raza's parents about his disappearance and the events leading to the discovery of his body.

His mother, Maryam, said the family had contacted police through emergency number 15 but alleged that the Ferrozabad police initially refused to register an FIR, saying the young man might have left home after becoming upset. According to the family, the FIR was eventually registered at around 4:30pm after repeated efforts.

The commission summoned Edhi volunteers Mohsin and Javed, who helped recover and transport the body. The volunteers said Raza's face was severely disfigured and that they noticed what appeared to be a bullet injury. They told the commission that the location was difficult to access and they required assistance from nursery workers to bring the body down. They said police never contacted them again after the body was transported.

Police personnel who reached the scene were also questioned.

Justice Siyal also questioned how the inquest report had been prepared and remarked that Nadeem Mughal appeared to have prepared it without seeing the body himself.