Shahzeb Khan murder: Medical board declares Shahrukh Jatoi not a minor

Identification, education documents state contradictory birth years.

KARACHI: The medical board, constituted to establish Shahrukh Jatoi’s age, declared that the suspect in Shahzeb Khan murder case is not a minor, Express News reported on Saturday.

Jatoi is accused of killing Shahzeb, the 20-year-old son of a police officer, in the upscale Defence neighbourhood of Karachi on December 25, 2012 over a petty dispute.

The medical board examined Jatoi’s birth certificate and education and identification documents in order to determine his actual age.

The assessment disclosed distortion in the data as his birth certificate and education documents mention 1993 as his birth year, but his Bay-form and passport stated he was born in 1995.

However, Jatoi’s dental and bone examination revealed he is around 19-year-old.

The report compiled by the board will be submitted to the court on February 10.

Earlier reports of Jatoi’s bone tests and a physical inspection declared him a minor, or under 18 years, and hence eligible for juvenile prison. But these assessments were rejected by the court, asserting that police surgeon Dr Jalil Qadri was not eligible to pronounce Jatoi a minor between the age of 17 and 18 years. Dr Qadri was asked to explain himself but he fled the scene.

Consequently, the provincial heath department gave six other doctors the job.

The prime suspect had slipped away from the country to evade arrest after the murder and was escorted back by the police after he was deported from Dubai. He was pointed out as the alleged killer by witnesses during an identification parade.