Mir Raza Probe: Commission Questions Doctor Over First Autopsy

KARACHI: A judicial commission investigating the death of businessman Mir Raza Ali questioned the medico-legal officer who conducted the first post-mortem examination, focusing on apparent discrepancies in the medical record and the handling of injuries found on the body. The proceedings were led by Sindh High Court Justice Omar Sial as the inquiry continued examining the circumstances surrounding Raza’s death and the initial investigation.

Medico-Legal Officer Dr Usama Sheikh told the commission that he graduated from Hamdard University in 2016 and had been working at Jinnah Hospital as a medico-legal officer since 2021. During questioning, he acknowledged that he had not received formal specialised training in medico-legal work, a disclosure that became part of the commission’s scrutiny of how the initial examination was conducted.

The commission questioned Dr Usama about marks and injuries visible on Raza’s hands and feet and asked why they had not been clearly documented in the original post-mortem findings. The doctor attributed the marks to decomposition, but the commission challenged whether decomposition could have developed to that extent within the available timeframe and raised questions about whether another explanation should have been considered.

Attention also turned to differences between the initial and later medical reports. The commission noted that additional information appeared in the subsequent document and questioned variations in handwriting. Dr Usama said he had collected and sealed samples from the body before handing them over to Sub-Inspector Nadeem Mughal. Mughal told the commission that the material had been deposited in the police station’s malkhana, prompting directions to verify the relevant storeroom record.

The hearing follows a second post-mortem conducted after Raza’s body was exhumed. An eight-member medical board concluded that a bullet entered through the upper left side of his back and exited through the front of his chest. The projectile fractured a rib, damaged a lung and caused serious injuries to the heart, resulting in fatal cardiac damage.

The later examination also documented a head injury and skull fracture. Gunshot residue was reported around the entry wound, while toxicology testing detected the local anaesthetic Bupivacaine but no other intoxicating or poisonous substances. The findings added to questions surrounding the earlier account that had treated the death as a possible suicide.

Raza disappeared from Karachi’s Ferozabad area on July 28 and was found dead near Gulistan-e-Johar the following day. His family rejected the suggestion that he had taken his own life and continued to demand a comprehensive investigation. Following the exhumation and second medical examination, Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code, dealing with murder, was added to the case. The Sindh government subsequently established the judicial commission to examine both the circumstances of the death and the conduct of the investigation.

The commission has already recorded statements from Raza’s parents and workers who were near the location where his body was discovered. It has also summoned his business partner, the driver of an online transport vehicle linked to the case, the relevant station house officer and a head constable for further testimony. Proceedings have been adjourned until September 3, with evidence preservation, recovery of the alleged weapon and examination of the role of police officials expected to remain central to the inquiry.