Mir Raza case: Sindh forms JIT with ISI, IB and Rangers, suspends police and doctor

The Sindh government has formed a joint investigation team (JIT) to reinvestigate the killing of Mir Raza Ali, the 25-year-old Karachi waffle-shop owner whose death police first called a suicide. The team, announced on Saturday, 24 October, will be led by DIG West Karachi Irfan Ali Baloch and include officers from the ISI, the Intelligence Bureau, Sindh Rangers and the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency.

The province has also suspended two police officers, ordered action against the doctor who did the first post-mortem, and asked Islamabad for a senior FIA officer to look into how the case was handled, The Express Tribune and The News reported.

Why Sindh is starting again

The move follows a single-member judicial commission headed by Sindh High Court judge Justice Omar Sial, which handed its report to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on 15 October.

The commission found that Mir Raza was murdered, not driven to suicide. It called the police investigation an “epic failure” and said public trust in Sindh Police over this case had become “nearly unrectifiable”. It also said an early cover-up could not be ruled out, according to The Express Tribune. Because of that, it said a normal police probe would not restore confidence, and recommended a JIT that brings in other agencies.

The agencies have seven days to nominate their officers, according to the Home Department’s letter.

Who is facing action

• SHO Kamran Qureshi and Inspector Ghaus have been suspended. A one-member committee under Additional IG Zulfiqar Ali Larik will look at Inspector Ghaus’s alleged role in burning the crime scene and whether the SHO helped destroy evidence.
• SHO Ferozabad Adeel Afzal and SI Shabbir Laghari are recommended for suspension and disciplinary action.
• Dr Osama Sheikh, the medico-legal officer whose first and second post-mortem reports contradicted each other, is to be suspended and sent for further training.
• Special Secretary Health Shehryar Memon faces an inquiry over the change of medical board, which the commission called “highly irregular”.

In all, the Larik committee will review the conduct of 13 officers named in the report. The Chief Minister approved the cabinet sub-committee’s recommendations.

How the Mir Raza case unfolded

• 28 July: Mir Raza, an IBA graduate who ran Wafflix, leaves his PECHS home in the early hours. His family reports him missing.
• 29 July: His body is found in Gulistan-e-Jauhar. Police say suicide; he is buried the same day. The family says the body had torture marks.
• 8 August: The body is exhumed after the police surgeon flags problems with the first post-mortem.
• Around 31 August: A final medical report finds a gunshot wound from the back and rules out suicide. The investigating officer later tells the Sindh High Court it was murder.
• 15 October: The Sial commission submits its report.
• 24 October: The JIT is formed.

Why it matters

This case became a test for many Karachi families of whether a death that police are quick to explain away gets a real investigation. A JIT with intelligence agencies is unusual for a single murder, and it shows how badly trust broke down.

It is still only a start. The JIT has not named suspects, and no one has been charged with the killing itself. The next things to watch are the officers’ nominations within seven days and whether the FIA-led review is formally notified.