The investigation into the murder of young businessman Mir Raza Ali has taken several significant turns, with the investigators examining his business dealings and alleged financial disputes while also scrutinising the circumstances surrounding his first post-mortem.
The probe may expand to include Ali’s business partner Ahmed and his brother Abdullah as the investigators look into alleged financial irregularities, while the phone of the medico-legal officer (MLO) who had conducted the first post-mortem has also been seized for forensic examination.
Sources said Ali’s father Mir Hussain has raised questions over the roles of Ahmed and Abdullah, adding that Ali and his business partner had a dispute over business investments and alleged financial irregularities. According to Hussain’s account, the dispute allegedly involved the over-billing of raw materials by Ahmed and Abdullah.
The investigators are also examining the claim that raw material for all the branches of Ali’s business Wafflix was purchased from Abdullah’s departmental store, sources said. Ali had reportedly expressed his concerns about alleged financial irregularities to his mother. Sources said he had also hired a private auditor about a month before his death to audit the accounts of all the Wafflix branches.
According to mobile phone call detail records, Ali’s last contact was with Abdullah at 2:23am, sources said. The investigators believe the information obtained from Ahmed and Abdullah can prove significant in determining the circumstances surrounding Ali’s death.
Sources said that 24 questions sent by Ali’s lawyer Jibran Nasir to the Sindh chief minister also include questions concerning the roles of Ahmed and Abdullah. In his statement to police Hussain also mentioned his son’s alleged distress over financial irregularities, sources said, adding that the family claims Ahmed and Abdullah stopped contacting them after Ali’s death.
Hussain also expressed concern that Ahmed may possess important information that is relevant to the murder investigation, sources said. However, Ahmed denied the allegations, according to sources, and also obtained pre-arrest bail from a court in connection with the murder case.
The investigation team also reportedly summoned the Karachi police surgeon, who was questioned for around two hours, during which she briefed the investigators in detail about both the first and the second post-mortem examinations.
According to sources, Dr Summaiya Syed told the investigation team that the bullet had entered the victim’s body from the back and exited through the chest.
Meanwhile, DIG Amir Farooqi indicated that the investigators are considering releasing the CCTV camera footage showing the final moments of the deceased. Expressing anguish, Hussain questioned why the family had not been shown the footage despite repeatedly requesting access to all the available CCTV camera recordings.
“We have not slept since last night. We have been put through another ordeal,” he said, adding that the family had already gone through the painful process of the body’s exhumation, and now they are facing another distressing situation.
“We have been sending messages and are tired of asking them to show us the footage and take us into confidence. We are his parents,” the father said. “You are talking about a video of his final moments. We have been asking you from day one to show us the videos. Now, after 24 days, you are saying that you have footage of his final moments.”
Hussain said he has been messaging DIG Farooqi since the previous night but has received no response. He claimed that the family is again being kept out of the loop while developments are being discussed in the media. “This is exactly what happened with the previous investigation team.”
In response to a questionnaire from the Geo News programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath, DIG Farooqi said that concerns had been raised over the questions being asked by the investigators from Ali’s close associates, as well as a letter written by Ali’s parents to the CM.
He clarified that the investigators are questioning people to gather information about different aspects of Ali’s life and his associates. He said that not everyone being questioned should necessarily be considered a suspect. He also said that the purpose of questioning is to collect information about Ali’s life and the circumstances surrounding the incident, and to identify anything unusual or suspicious.
