Mir Raza case: Judicial commission directs IO to seek re-employment, housing for cab driver

Commission criticises authorities for treating the driver as a suspect despite his cooperation in the investigation

KARACHI:

The judicial commission probing the murder of Mir Raza Ali expressed displeasure in a written order published on Friday over the treatment meted out to the ride-hailing app driver who provided key information in the case.

The commission instructed Investigation Officer (IO) DSP Siraj Lashari to contact the driver's employer and landlord and request that his contract be renewed. Justice Omar Sial also directed Lashari to assure both that the driver was not a suspect but a key witness who had cooperated with authorities in establishing facts surrounding the incident.

Mir Raza, a young entrepreneur, was murdered and his body was dumped in bushes near a wedding hall in Karachi's Gulistan-e-Jauhar. His body was found a day after his disappearance was reported to police on July 28. A second post-mortem was conducted after the initial examination failed to provide the required answers, confirming that he had been tortured and killed.

Raza's family continued to seek the formation of a joint investigation team (JIT) for a transparent probe into the incident, a request that was turned down by the Sindh High Court. A judicial commission was subsequently tasked with evaluating the merit of the probe.

Read More: Judicial commission questions Mir Raza Ali's business partner over irregularities

A day earlier, cab driver Ahsanullah told the commission that his employer had taken back the vehicle he used to earn a livelihood. He also said his landlord had evicted him, forcing him to take shelter at Ferozabad police station.

The commission noted that he had fully cooperated with Raza's family in their efforts to locate him. According to the order, he had provided details of the ride, submitted a location map and disclosed ride-related information before the commission.

Justice Sial directed the IO to address the concerns raised by the driver's employer and landlord and assure them that no coercive action would be taken against them in connection with the murder case.

The commission observed that, rather than being rewarded for assisting the family, Ahsanullah was being treated by the system as an accused. “The system… in fact is punishing him for assisting the family,” the order stated.

Also Read: Mir Raza Ali murder: Judicial commission announces Rs100,000 reward for information

The commission also recorded the statements of Raza's business partners Ahmed and Abdullah, as well as SDPO Arshad Afridi.

The written order noted that Ahmed would submit a copy of a notice issued by the Sindh Revenue Board, along with receipts for payments made to a food delivery company, which had come to light during the commission's proceedings.

Due to a shortage of time, the commission directed Hasem, Raziq and SHO Adeel Afzal to appear at the next hearing.

It also ordered summons to be issued to Gulistan-e-Jauhar police station SHO Kamran Qureshi and Court Moharir Zeeshan, directing them to appear before the commission at the next hearing.

The commission will reconvene on September 7 at 11am.

Case developments

A judicial commission was formed on the request of the Sindh government to probe the death of Raza, who was allegedly kidnapped from PECHS before his body was found in bushes near a wedding hall in Karachi's 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 first post-mortem findings contained discrepancies and omissions, leading to a second post-mortem that confirmed his murder. Consequently, considering the probe "botched", the family filed a petition in the SHC seeking the formation of JIT.

During earlier hearings regarding the formation of JIT, the investigating officer probing the death of Raza told the SHC that investigators were treating the case as murder and had ruled out suicide based on the post-mortem findings. DSP Siraj Lashari said the investigation had restarted “from zero” on August 13 and was being conducted using digital evidence, including CCTV footage. Investigators had recovered a bullet casing but had yet to find the weapon, while final post-mortem and forensic reports were still awaited.

Separately, the judicial commission convened its second hearing on Monday, September 1, wherein it grilled Medico-Legal Officer Dr Usama Sheikh over discrepancies in the first post-mortem report filed by him. The commission also recorded the statements of the victim's family and Edhi volunteers who shifted his body during the hearing. After the conclusion of the second hearing, Advocate Nasir said the first account of the MLO proved that he was correct about the "botched probe" and, since the commission is not tasked with the probe and can only oversee it, he reiterated that a JIT was crucial for a transparent investigation into the case.

In the latest hearing convened by the commission on Thursday, the commission noted that Raza's business partner Ahmed Bhurdey gave out unnecessary details that suggested his involvement in the murder rather than absolving him of the crime. It suggested that Ahmed was worried about Raza's financial backlog more than he cared about what happened to his childhood friend. The commission also grilled the SDPO Arshad Afridi for suggesting that Raza committed suicide after showing the CCTV footage to the family.