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The body of 25-year-old businessman and IBA graduate Mir Raza Ali was exhumed on Saturday for a fresh medical examination, his father’s lawyer said. The development came after the Sindh government restored the original medical board following a dispute over its sudden reconstitution.
Advocate Jibran Nasir said the investigation officer, all eight members of the medical team, Raza’s parents and a judicial magistrate were present during the exhumation.
“The investigation officer was present when the body was exhumed and the examination was carried out,” Nasir told reporters in Karachi.
He said the presence of the full medical team and judicial magistrate was important for ensuring transparency during the process.
Nasir said the family hopes the medical board will provide answers about the circumstances surrounding Raza’s death.
He said the report could help determine whether the young businessman died by suicide or was murdered.
Raza, who owned the eatery Wafflix, went missing on July 28. Authorities found his body the following day in bushes near Shahi Qila Ground in Gulistan-i-Jauhar.
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The body had a gunshot wound.
Raza’s family believes he was kidnapped, tortured and murdered. Police investigators, however, have continued to examine the possibility that he died by suicide.
The competing claims have created significant public interest in the case. The fresh examination is expected to provide further evidence for investigators.
Nasir criticised the handling of evidence during the investigation.
He said incomplete CCTV footage and messages taken out of context had contributed to rumours and premature conclusions about the case.
The lawyer also questioned the government’s decision to change the medical board without giving the family a clear explanation.
He said the family did not require “character certificates” for doctors serving on the board. Instead, he stressed the need for a transparent and professional examination.
Nasir said he hoped the medical board would complete its report quickly.
“We hope we will have the answers to all these questions by 6pm today; whether it is self-inflicted or a murder,” he said.
The exhumation had originally been scheduled for Friday morning. Authorities postponed it after Raza’s family objected to the sudden change in the medical board.
The family also raised concerns about the inclusion of doctors from outside Karachi division.
A judicial magistrate had allowed the exhumation on Thursday after an application from Raza’s father, Mir Hussain Ali.
The court directed the police surgeon and Sindh health secretary to form a medical board for the procedure.
The court order followed concerns over possible gaps in the medico-legal report prepared after the original post-mortem examination.
Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed had raised questions about some observations in the report. Her assessment relied on the post-mortem report and photographs because she had not personally examined the body.
She said certain observations in the report did not appear to match the available photographs.
The Sindh health department initially formed an eight-member medical board. Dr Summaiya Syed was appointed as its convener.
The board included medical experts from Dow University of Health Sciences, Jinnah Sindh Medical University and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. It also included representatives linked to the police surgeon’s office and the Citizens Police Liaison Committee.
However, the Sindh health department reconstituted the board in the early hours of Friday.
The new five-member board retained Dr Syed as convener. It included Prof Dr Zakiuddin from Dow University of Health Sciences, Prof Dr Kazi Akbar and Prof Dr Abid Hussain Chang from Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, and Hyderabad Police Surgeon Dr Waseem Khan.
Raza’s family objected to the new arrangement. The Sindh government later restored the original eight-member board, allowing the exhumation to proceed.
Raza’s family was present at the Tariq Road graveyard on Friday when the first attempt to conduct the exhumation was postponed.
Nasir had accused the authorities of delaying the process and said the police, health department and Sindh government should be held responsible for the situation.
On Saturday, he thanked the judiciary for intervening in the matter.
The lawyer said judicial intervention had helped move the case forward after what he described as delays during the initial investigation.
Nasir also questioned the handling of audio evidence. He said police shared the material with the media before showing it to Raza’s parents.
The family, he said, learned about the audio through television reports.
The fresh medical examination is now expected to play a key role in determining the next course of the investigation. Until the medical and forensic findings are completed, the circumstances surrounding Mir Raza Ali’s death remain disputed.
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