An initial medical report following the exhumation of Mir Raza Ali’s body has found that he was shot from behind and bore extensive marks of violence, according to sources cited by Geo News, which said it had obtained a copy (Geo News).
The report answers all fourteen points raised during the examination by police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed, the sources said.
According to the report, Ali sustained a gunshot wound from the rear. Marks of violence were found on his body, with fractured ribs including a fracture of the sixth rib, and multiple severe injuries to the chest. Multiple injury marks were found on his head and face, with injuries to the nasal bone. A deep injury and fracture were identified in the jaw area, and a fracture and injury measuring about 12 centimetres on his right thigh. Black marks were found on his body, injury marks on his feet, and blood stains on tissues in the lower part of the body.
The News reported the initial findings in stronger terms still, saying the second post-mortem established that Ali was tortured before he was shot in the back, and confirmed multiple ante-mortem injuries — inflicted before death — to his head, face, neck, chest and other parts of the body. It put the bullet’s entry wound at 0.8 centimetres, entering from behind and passing through the chest (The News).
That is the finding that matters most. Injuries sustained before death are not consistent with the suicide theory investigators had been pursuing.
The family’s lawyer, Jibran Nasir, said it appeared Ali had been punched before his death, and that it had been established he was shot in the back.
Karachi police then removed the team investigating the case. SSP East Zubair Nazir Sheikh, SSP Special Investigation Unit Samiullah Soomro and other officers were taken off the inquiry, police officials said. On the instructions of Sindh Inspector General Javed Alam Odho, the previous committee was dissolved and a new five-member committee constituted by notification: DIG Crime Branch Amir Farooqi as head, SSP Rapid Response Force Ali Raza as secretary, SP Investigation Korangi Qais Khan, Central SP Investigation Anum Tajammul, and an officer of the Special Investigation Unit Zaman Town. The change followed the family’s stated lack of confidence in the previous team, and Nasir’s call for it to be replaced in full.
The exhumation was carried out on Saturday at a graveyard near Tariq Road under tight security, with the family, their lawyer, a judicial magistrate and the investigating officer present, and a heavy police contingent deployed (Geo News). It took about three hours and was supervised by forensic experts. Seventeen samples were collected — four for DNA testing and the remainder for chemical examination — along with two reference samples from Ali’s parents for DNA matching. The body was reburied after the formalities were completed.
The samples were due to go to the University of Karachi’s forensic laboratory on Monday, with chemical examination and DNA results expected within three to four days.
The exhumation went ahead a day after it was blocked. It had been scheduled for Friday morning but was halted by the family over the overnight replacement of the court-ordered eight-member medical board with a five-member panel. Authorities restored the original eight-member board on Friday, after which the family agreed to proceed.
Ali’s father, Mir Hussain, said he was satisfied with Saturday’s proceedings. “I pray that what happened during the earlier post-mortem does not happen again,” he said. He said the family had maintained since July 30 that his son was murdered: “We were not believed, and it was being said that this was a suicide.” He said false statements had been spread about his son, and that a fake audio clip purportedly featuring Ali had been circulated to undermine the case. “We do not know which elements killed him, but the police know everything,” he said.
Nasir said the process had been completed only because of the court. “The work that the police could not complete in eight or nine days was completed because of the court,” he said.
Ali, an IBA graduate, left home on the night of July 28 saying he would return within ten minutes. His body was recovered from Gulistan-e-Jauhar. The preliminary post-mortem had recorded a gunshot wound to the chest, and investigators had pursued the possibility of suicide, citing debts and a reported request for a Rs30 million loan.
No arrests have been reported and no suspect has been named. The full post-mortem findings, chemical analysis and DNA results have not yet been published.
