KARACHI (MNN); A judicial commission investigating the death of businessman Mir Raza Ali has strongly criticised the police investigation, describing it as an “epic failure” and concluding that the available evidence clearly ruled out suicide and pointed to murder.
The 62-page report, headed by Sindh High Court Justice Omar Sial, was submitted to the Sindh government and made public following a decision by the provincial cabinet at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.
The commission held 15 hearings, examined 49 witnesses and reviewed the available record to assess the circumstances of Ali’s death, the conduct of police and medico-legal officials, and the possibility of negligence, evidence manipulation or a cover-up.
“It was a murder,” the report declared, adding that the bullet trajectory, location of the wound, absence of blood, condition of the body, acid burns and anaesthesia detected in the blood were inconsistent with suicide.
The commission said the police had breached essential investigative procedures, compromising the prospects of a successful prosecution. Although the initial response after the discovery of the body was prompt, the subsequent investigation fell far short of professional standards.
It also criticised the police for announcing findings prematurely without properly establishing the facts, adding that investigators had failed to examine whether coercion, blackmail or instigation had contributed to the circumstances surrounding Ali’s death.
Police negligence and possible cover-up
The report identified serious deficiencies in leadership, supervision, evidence collection and documentation. It said dozens of authorised and unauthorised police officers had handled evidence, approached witnesses and questioned important individuals without properly recording their actions.
The commission said it could not conclusively establish that an organised cover-up had taken place, but certain unexplained actions raised the possibility. It also criticised senior officers for allegedly failing to acknowledge or address investigative lapses.
The report identified alleged criminal negligence by Ferozabad police station SHO Adeel Afzal and Sub-Inspector Shabbir Leghari, the first investigating officer, recommending suspension and disciplinary proceedings. It also identified criminal negligence by Inspector Ghaus but did not recommend specific action against him.
The commission cited shortcomings in leadership and supervision by DIG Farrukh Lanjar and SSP Samiullah Soomro. It also criticised medico-legal officer Dr Osama Sheikh over his handling of the initial examination, describing his conduct as immature and unprofessional and recommending rigorous training before he is assigned further medico-legal duties.
Questions over suicide theory and medical examination
The commission questioned the initial police narrative that Ali had died by suicide. It highlighted a voice note provided by Alishaz Mushtaq as one of the most suspicious aspects of the case, noting that Mushtaq and ASP Nida Junaid had played important roles in supporting the suicide theory.
The report said the person identified as the source of information in the voice note did not corroborate the account, raising questions about its reliability.
It also referred to WhatsApp messages Ali allegedly sent to Sarim Bin Tahir seeking Rs30 million. The messages contained unusual grammatical errors and truncated spellings and appeared to reflect acute panic, which the commission said suggested that Ali might have been facing blackmail or threats.
Although CCTV footage showed Ali carrying a pistol on the night of his death, the commission said this was unusual because his close friends and associates described him as peace-loving and said he neither possessed nor regularly used firearms. The pistol had not been recovered at the time of the report.
The commission also noted that Ali’s known financial difficulties did not appear sufficient to explain suicide.
The controversy surrounding the medical board formed for the exhumation and second post-mortem examination was another major concern. The report criticised the overnight change in the board as legally questionable and irregular, saying senior officials in the Sindh Health Secretariat had failed to provide a convincing justification.
The second post-mortem examination subsequently found the initial report inconsistent with suicide and concluded that Ali’s death was caused by a gunshot wound to the back.
JIT recommended to restore public confidence
The commission recommended that the Sindh government constitute a joint investigation team (JIT) under DIG Irfan Baloch, incorporating senior representatives of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Intelligence Bureau (IB), Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) and the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).
It said an independent, intelligence-based investigation was necessary because a significant portion of the physical evidence had been compromised and public confidence in the police investigation had eroded.
The commission also called for a high-level committee, preferably led by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), to examine whether police officials involved in the first 10 days of the investigation had violated relevant provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code concerning disappearance of evidence, unlawful conduct by public servants and falsification of official records.
It urged the police to acknowledge past operational failures transparently, apologise where appropriate and initiate formal proceedings against responsible officials.
The report further recommended comprehensive police reforms, including improved crime-scene management, medico-legal procedures, evidence collection and preservation, digital documentation, investigator training and enhanced capacity for crime-scene units. It proposed completing the reform exercise within three months, subject to the provincial government’s decision.
Sindh government forms implementation committee
Following receipt of the report, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah constituted a three-member subcommittee to oversee implementation of the commission’s recommendations.
The committee is headed by Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, with Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah and Labour Minister Saeed Ghani as members. The Sindh advocate general will provide legal assistance, while the additional chief secretary of the Home Department will provide secretarial support.
The committee is expected to submit its recommendations to the chief minister at the earliest and present them to the provincial cabinet at its next meeting.
Background of the case
Mir Raza Ali, a 25-year-old businessman and Institute of Business Administration graduate, went missing on July 28 after leaving his home in Karachi’s PECHS area. His body, bearing gunshot wounds, was found the following day in bushes in Gulistan-i-Jauhar.
Police initially treated the death as suicide, citing the first post-mortem examination and Ali’s reported business losses and borrowed money. However, police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed challenged the findings of the initial examination conducted by medico-legal officer Dr Osama Sheikh.
A second post-mortem examination, conducted after the exhumation, found the original findings inconsistent with suicide. The exhumation board unanimously concluded that Ali had died from a gunshot wound to the back.
The judicial commission was established in August to determine the facts surrounding the death, assess the impartiality of the police and medico-legal investigations, identify possible negligence or misconduct, review forensic evidence and recommend further investigation or legal and departmental action.
The commission stressed that its report did not itself constitute a criminal investigation or conclusively establish the involvement of particular individuals in a cover-up. It said the case now required a transparent, impartial and evidence-based investigation to identify those responsible and restore public trust.
