KARACHI(National Times)- A judicial commission formed to investigate the circumstances and possible negligence in the Mir Raza Ali murder case declined on Monday a request by Dr Osama Shaikh \u2014 the medico-legal officer who conducted the slain businessman\u2019s first autopsy \u2014 to record a further statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sindh High Court\u2019s Justice Omar Sial, who heads the one-member commission, observed that Osama had \u201cappeared on social media\u201d and said that he had \u201cmore to tell the commission than what he told it earlier\u201d, according to the order released after the latest hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUpon a query as to whether he wanted to say that the death of Mir Raza was a suicide and not a murder, he said that is not what he wanted to say. He clarified that it was not a suicide. He wanted to justify his finding that the bullet came from the front,\u201d the order, a copy of which is available with Dawn, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There has been a controversy over Ali\u2019s autopsy in the case, with Karachi Police Surgeon Dr Summaiyya Syed pointing out flaws in the first postmortem findings. Following that, Ali\u2019s body was exhumed and a second post-mortem was conducted. Its findings concluded that the 25-year-old was shot in the back and ruled out the possibility of a suicide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Syed also told the commission at a previous hearing that she faced \u201cthreats\u201d after disputing the findings of the first postmortem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his order on Monday, Justice Sial stated, \u201cI also sense from the questions I asked of him (Osama) that his sole purpose in recording a further statement is to throw mud at the police surgeon and the worthy chief minister. I will not allow either. The commission is not a forum for mud-slinging.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The order added that the terms of reference of the commission required it determine the true facts and circumstances of the case and to attribute negligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have enough information for that. The commission has its own mind to determine what has transpired. Therefore, I decline Dr Osama Shaikh\u2019s request,\u201d Justice Sial added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During his previous appearance before the commission on Sept 1, Osama had told the judicial commission that he was not under any influence or pressure while conducting the postmortem and had nowhere stated in his report that Ali had died by suicide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For its part, the commission had expressed dissatisfaction with Sheikh\u2019s answers, questioned the discrepancies between his initial and final reports and asked whether he or a sweeper had conducted the autopsy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Osama had maintained that he had conducted the procedure and that the final report was issued after the exhumation and second autopsy, following 14 objections by the police surgeon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had added that he had declined to provide information when called to the chief minister\u2019s house on Aug 9 in the absence of relevant documents, while the second investigation team recorded his statement on Aug 17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The case\u2019s investigation team was changed following objections raised by Ali\u2019s family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Friday, the judicial commission had deplored that the first investigating officer of the case had hardly made any effort to probe the matter and did not fulfil legal formalities during the investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More from Monday\u2019s proceedings<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During Monday\u2019s proceedings, the statements of other witnesses were recorded, including that of Hyderabad Health Services Director General (DG) Pervez Ahmed Shaikh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The commission\u2019s order stated that witness Ahmed Hassan Shaikh, an investor, submitted the the investment and profit-sharing agreement dated 04 July 2026, executed between him and Ali and his business partner, Ahmed Bhardey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, DG Pervez submitted an Aug 6 letter regarding the constitution of a medico-legal board for the exhumation of Ali\u2019s body, a court order allowing the exhumation, an order issued by the Hyderabad Health Services DG on Aug 6 regarding the appointment of the convener of the exhumation board and a March 30 notification regarding the powers to dispose of cases relating to the constitution of special medical boards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moreover, Justice Sial observed during the proceedings that \u201cafter his media interviews, in which he complained that he had much more to say than he had told the commission, Bhardey was given an opportunity to answer the family\u2019s questions and tell them what he knew\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The meeting was held on Aug 19, the order said, adding that Ali\u2019s family had, however, informed the commission today that \u201cdespite repeated requests to Bhardey to tell them what he knew, he said nothing beyond what he had already told the commission\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt becomes obvious that Bhardey\u2019s claims on certain channels were a mere attempt to derail the commission proceedings. He is cautioned from attempting to do so,\u201d the commission instructed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its order further stated that Bhardey had also been given an opportunity to file an affidavit after meeting Ali\u2019s family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHowever, he has not availed himself of the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The order said that Ali\u2019s fiancee had sent a message via Whatsapp, detailing how her phone had been taken and how the police forwarded the data to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Siraj Lashari, the case\u2019s investigating officer (IO).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DSP Lashari would be questioned about it when he comes to record his statement, the order stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It added that the commission issued notices to Assistant Sub-Inspector Nida \u2014 who is deployed at Ferozabad Police Station where the case for first registered \u2014 and others for the next hearing, scheduled for Aug 22 (Tuesday).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The case so far<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ali\u2019s body was found a day after he went missing on July 28. Since then, the case has been mired in controversy, with the deceased\u2019s family accusing the police of trying to bury the facts while the investigators initially attempted to build the case around the possibility of a suicide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Days after the recovery of Ali\u2019s body on July 29, Karachi Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed had told Geo News that the post-mortem findings in the case had raised several questions, as some observations in the report did not appear to match the available photographs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On August 6, a Karachi court took up an application by Ali\u2019s father, allowed the exhumation of his body, ordered the formation of a medico-legal board for the purpose and directed that a second autopsy of Ali\u2019s body be conducted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Sindh health department then constituted an eight-member board, with police surgeon Dr Syed as the convener. However, in the early hours of August 7, the board was reconstituted through an order issued by the director general of the Sindh health department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Dr Syed remained the convener of the new five-member board, its members were changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Ali\u2019s family rejected the new board, which also resulted in the deferment of the planned exhumation on Friday. Meanwhile, the counsel for Ali\u2019s family, Nasir, accused the authorities of trying to bury the facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Sindh government then restored the original medical board, following which Ali\u2019s body was exhumed on August 8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A day later, the Sindh inspector general of police\u2019s (IG) office notified the reconstitution of the investigating team probing Ali\u2019s death, while Karachi Additional IG Azad Khan transferred the investigation into Ali\u2019s murder to Zaman Town police station from Ferozabad Police Station, where the case was registered under charges of kidnapping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The order for the probe team\u2019s reconstitution also showed that a murder charge had been added to the first information report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The same day, the Sindh government decided to seek a judicial commission for the case\u2019s investigation, only to defer the plan a day later after Ali\u2019s family said they had made no such demand and had faith in the new investigation team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Aug 19, Ali\u2019s parents, Mir Hussain and Mariam Hussain, wrote to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, seeking his \u201cdirect supervision of the murder investigation\u201d. They also urged the chief minister to order an investigation and departmental inquiry into the previous investigation team and immediately suspend the officers involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The provincial government acknowledged the letter and announced the decision on Aug 23 to form a judicial commission to determine whether the investigation in the case was being conducted impartially and to investigate the circumstances surrounding Ali\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the counsel for Ali\u2019s family approached the SHC, objecting to the provincial government\u2019s decision to form a judicial commission and seeking the formation of an independent and multi-agency JIT \u201ccomprising officers who have had no previous involvement in the case\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Sept 2, the SHC dismissed that petition filed by Ali\u2019s family, observing that constituting such a body was the \u201cprerogative of the government\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the final report of Ali\u2019s second post-mortem for the Mir Raza Ali murder case confirmed that his death was caused by a gunshot wound to the back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDeath occurred due to cardiac rupture consequent to perforating firearm injury of the chest,\u201d the report stated, adding that the entry wound was on the posterior thorax (back) and the exit wound on the anterior thorax (front of the chest).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe findings are inconsistent with suicide as the manner of death,\u201d it confirmed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KARACHI(National Times)- A judicial commission formed to investigate the circumstances and possible negligence in the Mir Raza Ali murder case declined on Monday a request by Dr Osama Shaikh \u2014 the medico-legal officer who conducted the slain businessman\u2019s first autopsy \u2014 to record a further statement. Sindh High Court\u2019s Justice Omar Sial, who heads the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-133528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n