Kamran Faisal investigation: Experts visit site of NAB officer’s death

Move met with heated reactions from local police.

ISLAMABAD:

A four-member team from the Punjab Forensic Science Academy (PFSA) visited on Wednesday the room where National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigator Kamran Faisal “committed suicide”.

The body of Kamran Faisal, who was investigating the infamous rental power project case, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his room in Federal Lodges on January 18. His death was “ruled suicide” – a claim his family does not believe.

Police investigators, however, have called the exercise “futile”.  The Secretariat police said they had no idea what the PFSA was trying to establish by first exhuming the body and now visiting the crime scene.

One of the investigators said the PFSA were granted permission to visit the scene and to exhume Faisal’s body only to avoid “finger-pointing”.

“We want to keep the investigations fair and transparent and do not want the NAB officer’s family or anyone raising any objections or suspicions on police’s role,” said the officer.

“They took pictures and collected fingerprints. They found nothing new. We have already collected evidence that was available there,” said an officer from Secretariat police station who accompanied the team during their visit.

“It does not matter if a picture is taken with an imported camera or a local one, it remains a picture. We already possess all the fingerprints taken from the scene,” he said.

Forensic experts avoided the media. However, one member, Faiza Arshad, told journalists that they had completed their work before leaving for Lahore.

An Islamabad police officer said that visiting a crime scene was not the PFSA’s mandate. “It has nothing to do with their job which is limited only to forensic examination,” he added.



He also told The Express Tribune that the Islamabad police were writing a second letter to PFSA, informing them that they were overstepping their mandate and causing “an unnecessary delay in the probe into the high-profile case”.

PFSA report’s authenticity

The PFSA has been tight-lipped on the issue. However, they conveyed to the police that they were trying to establish the “missing links” in the probe by ascertaining if the NAB officer was murdered or if he committed suicide. The modus operandi, they suggested, would be to collect any evidence, through DNA tests, proving the presence of a second person at the time of Faisal’s death.

Despite their explanation, their continued work on the case has angered local police.

“In case they do find some DNA traces from Faisal’s clothes, how would they prove the person was there with him at the time of his death,” a capital police officer questioned.

“I am not sure if their report would be credible anymore. We will have to see but we have conveyed to them our concerns over their activities,” he added.

The PFSA wrote a letter to CPO Islamabad two weeks ago and asked for permission to exhume Faisal’s body for further samples for chemical examination. They also requested the police to provide them the clothes he was wearing at the time of his death besides seeking a visit to crime scene.

After completing the examination process, the PFSA will provide a forensic report.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th, 2013.