‘Mir Raza was murdered,’ probe team tells court it wasn’t suicide

The investigation team probing the death of young businessman Mir Raza Ali has concluded that he was murdered and not killed by suicide, the investigating officer told a Karachi court on Monday, Aaj News reported.

Investigating Officer Siraj Lashari told the court during the hearing of the case that the team was “clear” that the incident was a murder.

Responding to a question from the judge about the investigators’ assessment of the incident, Lashari said the probe team had reached the conclusion that Mir Raza had been killed.

The investigating officer said the team had restarted the investigation from scratch and collected evidence from multiple angles. He said most of the evidence gathered so far was digital and its analysis remained a key part of the investigation.

The court was informed that a spent shell had been recovered from the crime scene, but the pistol allegedly used in the incident had not yet been found.

Lashari said evidence relating to the weapon was also important to the investigation and further work was under way in this regard.

He told the court that the final post-mortem and forensic reports had yet to be received. Further progress in the investigation is expected once the reports are available.

Lashari also told the court that the investigation team was accountable to its duty rather than to lawyer Jibran Nasir, assuring the court that the probe was being conducted on the basis of available evidence and in accordance with legal requirements.

The investigating officer maintained that, based on the evidence available so far, the team had ruled out suicide and considered Mir Raza’s death a murder.

However, the “final forensic and post-mortem reports are still awaited and are expected to provide further clarity on the cause and circumstances of death,” he added.

Lawyer seeks stronger judicial commission

Meanwhile, during proceedings before the Sindh High Court, Jibran Nasir, counsel for Mir Raza’s parents, said the family had no objection to the formation of a judicial commission but called for the body to be strengthened and given broader terms of reference.

Speaking outside the high court, Jibran said the family supported the judicial commission but wanted additional TORs to ensure a comprehensive and effective investigation into the case.

He said the government lawyer had opposed the formation of a joint investigation team (JIT), arguing that the judicial commission’s role was not to conduct an investigation.

Jibran thanked the court for hearing the family’s plea, saying the court was not bound to accept their request but had nevertheless heard the matter in detail within a week.

Referring to the investigating officer’s statement before the court, Jibran said Lashari had clearly stated that the incident was a murder.

He questioned whether the investigating officer had also recorded statements from members of the previous investigation team.

Jibran further said the Advocate General Sindh had suggested that a letter be written to the Sindh inspector general of police for the formation of a JIT.

He questioned how the Sindh government could request the inclusion of federal institutions in the proposed JIT through a letter to the provincial police chief.