In Pakistan, four people summoned to commission in Mir Raza Ali death case
In Karachi, Pakistan, a judicial commission summoned four people to a hearing on September 8 in the case concerning the death of 25-year-old Mir Raza Ali. Those summoned include Karachi police surgeon Dr. Sumaiya Syed, another member of the medical board, Ferozabad police station chief Adil Afzal, and Gulistan-i-Jauhar police station official Zeeshan.
As Dawn reports, the one-member commission is headed by Sindh High Court Justice Omar Sial. It is examining the circumstances of Ali's death and possible negligence in the case.
Testimony and case materials
Justice Sial stated that the commission had not been provided with the initial statements that police were required to submit under Article 161 of the Criminal Procedure Code. He said that he therefore drew an adverse inference.
After notice was issued to Sindh Deputy Inspector General of Police for Crime and Investigation Amir Farooqi, police submitted two statements by Ali's friends, Abdul Raziq and Muhammad Hashim, recorded on August 1. The notice to Farooqi was withdrawn after the additional home secretary assured the commission that there were no other documents in the record.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
The additional secretary was also instructed to verify whether forensic, ballistic, and chemical reports that had not been provided to the commission exist. If such documents are available, they must be submitted in a sealed envelope.
Exhumation and second autopsy
Ali disappeared on July 28, and the following day his body with a gunshot wound was found in the Gulistan-i-Jauhar area. The case was initially registered at the Ferozabad police station as a kidnapping case. After a second autopsy in August, the investigation was transferred to Zaman Town police station, and a murder charge was added to the FIR.
Syed had previously pointed to inconsistencies between the findings of the first autopsy and the available photographs. Following a court decision, Ali's body was exhumed on August 8 and a second autopsy was conducted. The final report stated that death was caused by a rupture of the heart resulting from a through-and-through gunshot wound to the chest: the entry wound was on the back and the exit wound was on the front of the chest. The document noted that these findings are inconsistent with suicide.
The deceased's family accused police of trying to conceal facts, while law enforcement officers initially considered the possibility of suicide. These are claims by the family, not a judicial finding.
