Investigators examining the killing of Mir Raza Ali have sought the assistance of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency to access his digital records, including WhatsApp account details, in order to identify any suspicious activity (Dawn).
The request continues a pattern that has defined the past week: the new five-member team is largely engaged in obtaining material the original investigation did not.
Investigative authorities confirmed this week that geofencing of the crime scene had not been carried out despite the days that had elapsed, that Ali’s mobile data record had not been obtained, and that no forensic examination of his smartwatch had been done. The new team said geofencing would be conducted and mobile data records were being sought. It has also collected details of a guesthouse near the scene, which police have sealed after detaining six of its staff.
The team’s secretary, SSP Ali Raza, visited the site in Gulistan-e-Jauhar where the body was found, accompanied by the family, and took details from the gardener who first identified it — the first reported crime-scene visit since the Sindh home minister acknowledged the scene had not been preserved as required.
Six samples have reached the University of Karachi’s laboratory for DNA analysis: four from Ali’s body and two reference samples from his parents. Results have not been announced.
The forensic picture so far is of a violent death. The second post-mortem, conducted after exhumation on a court order, found Ali was shot from behind, with two gunshot holes in his shirt — one at the back and a larger one at the front — and marks of violence including fractured ribs and injuries to the head, face and jaw. A chemical examination report found acid particles and gunshot residue on the shirt, recorded that efforts had been made to conceal his identity, and noted that no fingerprints were present on his hands. The medico-legal officer who conducted the first post-mortem has been removed after an inquiry found serious lapses.
Ali, an IBA graduate, left home on the night of July 28 and his body was found the next day. Investigators initially pursued the possibility of suicide; his father maintained from July 30 that he had been murdered.
No arrests have been reported in the killing and no suspect has been named. Separately, the NCCIA has summoned four people over an alleged social media campaign linking Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon and his son to the case — allegations both men deny and which no investigating authority has substantiated.
