New team formed to probe Mir Raza Ali’s death

The investigation into the death of 25-year-old businessman Mir Raza Ali has taken a new turn after police added a

The investigation into the death of 25-year-old businessman Mir Raza Ali has taken a new turn after police added a murder charge to the case and reconstituted the team handling the probe.

Ali’s body was discovered in bushes in Karachi’s Gulistan-i-Jauhar on July 29, a day after he was reported missing. His family has maintained from the outset that he was abducted, subjected to torture and killed, while the initial police investigation had considered the possibility of suicide.

The latest development came after a second post-mortem examination produced findings that differed from the initial medical report.

According to an order issued by the Sindh Inspector General of Police’s office, the investigation team has been reorganised following the findings of the second autopsy. The first information report (FIR), initially registered under Section 365 of the Pakistan Penal Code for kidnapping, now also includes Sections 302 and 201.

Section 302 deals with murder, while Section 201 relates to causing evidence of an offence to disappear or providing false information to protect an offender.

A five-member team has now been assigned responsibility for the investigation. It is headed by Sindh Deputy Inspector General (Crime and Investigation) Amir Farooqui and includes senior police officers from different investigative units.

The new team has been directed to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation and examine the case from every relevant angle. Police have also been instructed to identify, secure and analyse any new evidence, including physical, forensic, technical and circumstantial material.

The team has been asked to make every effort to determine what happened to Ali and submit its findings to the relevant court within the required timeframe. Investigators will also provide daily updates on the progress of the case.

The development follows demands from Ali’s family for a change in the investigation. Family lawyer Jibran Nasir had called for the original probe to be replaced after the businessman’s body was exhumed for a second post-mortem examination.

According to the family’s legal representative, the fresh examination found evidence indicating that Ali had been shot in the back. He argued that the finding contradicted the earlier possibility of suicide and supported the family’s allegation that Ali had been murdered.

Nasir has further alleged that Ali was tortured before his death, describing him as a young and ambitious businessman whose death had left his family seeking answers.

The lawyer has also criticised the handling of the case by senior police officials, claiming that the family faced harassment and pressure instead of receiving a satisfactory investigation.