Cabinet to decide fate of Mir Raza commission report on Tuesday

CM Office confirms receipt of sealed report containing Judicial Commission's findings

KARACHI:

Nearly three months after the death of young Karachi entrepreneur Mir Raza Ali was initially treated as a possible suicide, a sealed Judicial Commission report is set to reach the Sindh cabinet, which will decide on Tuesday what action should follow its findings.

The report, submitted to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, comes after an investigation marred by conflicting post-mortem findings, questions over the handling of evidence and allegations of serious lapses in the police probe. The commission's findings remain confidential ahead of the cabinet meeting.

The provincial cabinet will open the sealed report and consider its implementation at a meeting at the Chief Minister's House on Tuesday, according to a spokesperson for the chief minister.

Mir Raza, a 25-year-old businessman and owner of the Wafflix dessert brand, went missing on July 28 after leaving his home in PECHS. His body, bearing a gunshot wound, was found in bushes near Shahi Qila Ground in Gulistan-e-Jauhar the following day.

Police initially pursued the possibility of suicide, relying on the first post-mortem report and citing reported business losses and borrowed money. His family, however, maintained that he had been kidnapped, tortured and murdered, rejecting the suicide theory and demanding a thorough investigation.

The case took a significant turn after the family obtained a court order for the exhumation of Mir Raza's body and a second post-mortem examination. The resulting report concluded that the findings were inconsistent with suicide. The medical board found that the fatal bullet had entered through his back and exited through his chest, while also documenting injuries to other parts of his body.

Following the findings, murder charges were added to the first information report, and the police investigation team was reconstituted. The family continued to raise questions about the investigation and sought a more credible mechanism to establish the facts.

The investigation subsequently became the subject of a wider controversy over alleged mishandling of evidence and possible negligence by police officials. Among the issues examined were the burning of the crime scene, the recording of witness statements and the handling of Mir Raza's mobile phone.