KARACHI: A judicial commission investigating the circumstances and possible negligence in the Mir Raza Ali murder case has observed that the motives of Medico-Legal Officer (MLO) Dr Osama Sheikh, who conducted the first autopsy, “appear tainted”.

The body of the 25-year-old businessman was found in Karachi’s Gulistan-i-Jauhar on July 29, a day after he went missing. After his family accused the police of trying to bury the facts, a judicial commission has been holding regular hearings to probe the circumstances and possible negligence in the murder case.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Karachi Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed accused MLO Sheikh of instigating a “malicious campaign” against her after she had disputed the findings of Ali’s first post-mortem.

According to a written order for the hearing issued on Wednesday, Dr Syed had submitted a “letter coupled with a number of documents as evidence of the malicious campaign launched against her on the instigation” of Dr Sheikh.

The one-member commission, headed by Sindh High Court’s (SHC) Justice Omar Sial, noted that Dr Sheikh’s “motives and intentions appear tainted”.

“His conduct has attempted to damage the honour of this commission and to detract from and scandalise its real purpose.”

Justice Sial wrote that he was saddened to see the police surgeon request the commission “in a very graceful, polite and professional manner” to take notice of the “highly defamatory and dangerous social media campaign against her”.

Dr Syed informed the commission that she was under “immense mental anguish and that the material being circulated against her had set a very dangerous precedent that no senior henceforth should attempt to help rectify mistakes done by the junior for fear of prosecution”, the order stated.

The commission noted that Dr Syed was a distinguished and seasoned professional with an impressive academic and work background, and her being subjected to such harassment was “unacceptable”.

“She is an asset to the government. Rather than appreciate her services, she is being defamed.”

Dr Syed had also told the commission at a previous hearing that she faced “threats” after disputing the findings of the first postmortem.

In its order, the commission requested the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency’s (NCCIA) Karachi director to investigate the issue of a message exchange between the police surgeon and Dr Sheikh.

It also urged the NCCIA to identify whether the defamatory messages circulating on the internet were “forensically satisfactory”, and determine who was responsible for the leakage of these messages on the internet.

It directed the NCCIA Karachi director to submit a comprehensive report to the commission before the end of its tenure.

During his previous appearance before the commission on Sept 1, the MLO had told the judicial commission that he was not under any influence or pressure while conducting the postmortem and had nowhere stated in his report that Ali had died by suicide.

For its part, the commission had expressed dissatisfaction with Dr Sheikh’s answers, questioned the discrepancies between his initial and final reports and asked whether he or a sweeper had conducted the autopsy.

He had maintained that he had conducted the procedure and that the final report was issued after the exhumation and second autopsy, following 14 objections by the police surgeon.

In a hearing on Monday, the commission also declined the MLO’s request to record a further statement, observing that he “appeared on social media” and said that he had “more to tell the commission than what he told it earlier”.

Tuesday’s hearing

In its Tuesday hearing, the commission recorded the statements of Abid Farooq Sumar, Asif Farooq Sumar, Faizur Rehman and Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASF) Nida Junaid. The statement of witness Sarim bin Tahir has also been recorded through Zoom.

The commission issued notices to Sindh Health Department Secretary Tahir Hussain Sangi, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Samiullah Soomro and Provincial Emergency Operation Centre Secretary Shehryar Memon for their appearance on Thursday at 11am.

Memon has recently been appointed as the Sindh health services director general to replace Dr Pervez Ahmed Shaikh — a decision taken by the Sindh government on the day the latter testified before the commission and named Memon as the person who issued instructions to change the medical board formed for exhuming Ali’s body.

Notices were also issued to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and Investigation Officer (IO) Siraj Ahmed Lashari and CPLC Assistant Chief (Operations/Complaint Resolution Centre) Kashif Iftikhar for their appearance on Sept 28 (Monday) at 11am.

According to the order, during Tuesday’s hearing, Ali’s family said they believed another special medical board was being considered. The family did not get any reply upon approaching Deputy Inspector General Amir Farooqi for confirmation.

In his order, Justice Sial further observed that if the Ali family’s information was correct, such a move would nullify the commission’s work to date.

“The commission will then be unable to give its conclusive findings. It will narrow the commission’s terms. The Government of Sindh has incurred substantial expenses in running this commission,” Justice Sial wrote.

The absence of “reliable, efficient, and complete communication” between the deceased’s family and the police was fueling public speculation, the judge noted.

The commission requested the Sindh inspector general (IG) that a duly authorised police focal person be appointed to communicate with the family and provide official information to the press and media.

The judicial panel noted that the witness statement again revealed that the entire record had not been provided to it.

“Even after repeated reminders, such a lack of relevant records is regrettable,” the order said.