The father of Mir Raza Ali has demanded the suspension of Karachi’s East Deputy Inspector General, Dr Farrukh Ali, and other officers, alleging they delayed the investigation into his son’s killing and attempted to conceal evidence (Geo News).
Speaking to journalists, Mir Hussain Ali also called for the suspension of the Ferozabad station house officer over his alleged role in mishandling the case. The police officers, he said, “played a game” with the bereaved family.
These are allegations by the family and have not been established by any inquiry. No action against DIG Farrukh Ali has been announced.
Action has, however, been taken against two other officers over the failure the family has complained about longest. Karachi police chief Azad Khan has suspended Shahrah-e-Faisal Sub-divisional Police Officer Muhammad Arshad Afridi and Gulistan-e-Jauhar Station House Officer Kamran Qureshi with immediate effect, for failing to preserve the crime scene and to conduct a proper crime-scene investigation after Ali’s body was found (MM News; The News).
The Additional Inspector General for Karachi has also ordered the case file transferred out of Ferozabad Police Station to Zaman Town Police Station in District Korangi — moving the investigation away from the station whose SHO the family wants suspended.
That makes three officials removed or suspended in the case so far, alongside the medico-legal officer.
The demand escalates a pattern that has run through the case for two weeks. The medico-legal officer who conducted the first post-mortem, Dr Osama, has already been removed after an inquiry found serious lapses. The original investigation team was dissolved and replaced. Investigative authorities have confirmed that geofencing of the crime scene was never carried out, that Ali’s mobile data record was not obtained, and that his smartwatch was never forensically examined.
The family has separately objected to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency examining that smartwatch, with lawyer Jibran Nasir asking for it to be analysed at the Punjab Forensic Science Agency instead. Nasir said the device stayed with the head of the dissolved committee for several days before reaching the NCCIA on Wednesday, and raised the possibility of tampering.
The new team headed by DIG Amir Farooqi has meanwhile written four letters to the NCCIA seeking exactly that examination, along with details of Ali’s social media and other digital accounts. It met at Ferozabad police station, assigned responsibilities, and went on to the site to collect further evidence, accompanied by the previous investigating officer. The committee chief visited the scene for the first time and members interviewed nursery staff there.
Ali, 25, an IBA graduate and businessman, was found dead in Gulistan-e-Jauhar a day after he went missing on July 28. Police initially worked on the possibility of suicide; his father has maintained throughout that his son was kidnapped, tortured and killed.
The forensic findings have moved towards the family’s account. A second post-mortem after exhumation found Ali was shot from behind, with two gunshot holes in his shirt and marks of violence including fractured ribs and injuries to the head, face and jaw. A chemical examination found acid particles and gunshot residue on the shirt, recorded that efforts had been made to conceal his identity, and found no fingerprints on his hands.
No arrests have been reported and no suspect has been named.
