Mir Raza murder case: Judicial commission notes motives of MLO who conducted first postmortem 'appear tainted'

Karachi: A judicial inquiry into the Mir Raza Ali murder case has found that the motives of the Medico-Legal Officer (MLO) Dr Osama Sheikh, who performed the initial autopsy, “appear tainted”. The 25-year-old businessman's body was discovered in Karachi's Gulistan-i-Jauhar on July 29, a day after he vanished. Following his family's accusations of the police attempting to conceal the truth, a judicial commission has been convening frequent hearings to investigate the circumstances and potential negligence in the murder case.

During a hearing on Tuesday, Karachi Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed alleged that MLO Sheikh was fueling a "malicious campaign" against her after she had raised doubts about the findings of Ali's first post-mortem. According to a written directive for the hearing issued on Wednesday, Dr Syed had submitted a "letter and numerous documents" as evidence of the malicious campaign initiated against her by Dr Sheikh's influence.

The one-member commission, led by Sindh High Court Justice Omar Sial, noted that Dr Sheikh's "motives and intentions appear tainted". Justice Sial expressed disappointment at the police surgeon's attempts to harm the commission's reputation and tarnish its genuine purpose. The commission was saddened to learn that Dr Syed was enduring significant mental anguish and that the circulating material against her had set a dangerous precedent, discouraging senior officials from rectifying mistakes due to fear of prosecution.

The commission recognized Dr Syed as a distinguished and experienced professional with an impressive academic and work history, and her harassment was "unacceptable". They deemed it improper to disrespect her services rather than acknowledge them. Dr Syed had previously informed the commission about facing "threats" after challenging the first post-mortem findings.

The commission requested the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) Karachi director to examine the message exchange between Dr Syed and Sheikh, determine if the defamatory messages circulating online were "forensically satisfactory", and identify the responsible parties for leaking these messages. The commission directed the NCCIA Karachi director to present a comprehensive report to the commission before its conclusion.

During his previous appearance before the commission on September 1, the MLO claimed he was not influenced or pressured during the postmortem and had never stated in his report that Ali had committed suicide. The commission expressed dissatisfaction with Dr Sheikh's answers, questioned discrepancies between his initial and final reports, and inquired whether he or a cleaner had conducted the autopsy.

He maintained his claim of conducting the procedure and that the final report was issued after the exhumation and second autopsy, following 14 objections from the police surgeon.