Medical student’s body exhumed at Karachi's Kohi Goth Graveyard 15 months after death

Family suspects foul play, seeks post-mortem; samples sent for chemical examination

KARACHI:

The body of 23-year-old medical student Sultan Zafar, who died last year after allegedly falling from a moving vehicle at Karachi's Sea View, was exhumed on Wednesday, nearly 15 months after his death, following a request by his family.

A nine-member medical board, comprising seven doctors and two mortuary attendants, exhumed the body at Kohi Goth Graveyard and conducted a post-mortem examination. Samples were collected and sent for chemical examination, while the final post-mortem report will be prepared after the chemical examination results are received.

The exhumation was ordered by a magistrate on an application filed by Sultan’s family.

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Professor of Radiology Dr Saba Sohail was appointed chairperson of the medical board. The board included Dr Mehreen Fatima of the Department of Forensic Medicine at Dow Medical College, neurosurgeon Dr Imran, Jinnah Hospital Medico-Legal Officer Dr Mumtaz, Police Surgeon’s Office administrative in-charge Dr Yasin, Additional Police Surgeon at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital Dr Kamran Sheikh and Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed. Mortuary attendants Shoaib and Anees were also part of the board.

Zafar had gone to Dau Darya with friends on July 23, 2025, where he sustained serious injuries in what was initially described as an accident. He remained under treatment at a hospital for about a week before succumbing to his injuries.

His mother, Dr Mehr Afroz, later donated his organs. On July 31, both of Zafar’s kidneys were transplanted into two patients undergoing dialysis at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT), where Dr Mehr works as a doctor.

According to the family, CT scans and X-rays conducted after the incident had revealed fractures in different parts of Sultan’s body, including a nasal bone fracture. The family said it approached police over the injuries but received no cooperation.

Speaking to the media after the exhumation, Sultan’s maternal aunt Mehr Feroz said the family suspected that he had been murdered.

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She said three girls and four boys were accompanying Sultan when the incident occurred. According to the family, they travelled in two vehicles from Dau Darya towards an under-construction building beyond the area.

Sultan’s friends had allegedly told the family that he got out of the vehicle while it was travelling at around 20 kilometres per hour and sustained injuries. However, Mehr Feroz said the family had found no evidence at the alleged site to support the account of an accident.

Police registered a case under Section 320 of the Pakistan Penal Code at Sahil police station nearly six months after the incident, on the complaint of Sultan’s mother. The family has now sought to establish the circumstances surrounding Sultan’s death through the post-mortem examination and subsequent forensic analysis.