The investigators have decided to carry out a forensic examination of a metal piece found inside the body of senior journalist and anchorperson Arshad Sharif.
According to media reports, the metal piece was found inside Sharif’s chest. Investigators have been suspecting that piece as a part of a bullet that had remained in the body and believe that it would be helpful in the determination of the type of weapon from which it was fired.
The piece was handed over to police by the eight-member medical board of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) after a postmortem conducted on October 26. The crucial lead has been hoped to help investigators unfold the mystery and controversies related to Sharif’s death.
The investigators and medical board have been surprised as to why was it left inside the body after the first autopsy conducted in Nairobi. This development has left questions for the first autopsy as bullets, being important evidence, were never left inside the body.
However, the determination of the weapon from which this piece of the bullet had been fired would be another question as the bullet piece is in Pakistan and the weapon in Kenya, making the task of combining the two difficult.
According to a media report quoting the investigator’s associate, Arshad had received two bullets; one in his head and the other in his chest. The wound mark on the chest has suggested that the bullet was fired from close range and from behind. There is a bullet injury on the front side of the chest as well, which could be the exit point of the bullet.
There was also found mild blackening around the bullet mark on the back suggesting that it was fired from close range – with a distance of only 4-5 feet. The upper part of the skull of the late journalist also had bullet injury and a significant part of the skull was smashed.
The recovered piece of the bullet would be sent to Islamabad’s forensic science laboratory or to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency Lahore. The decision in this regard will be taken today.
