- Police surgeon flags possible loss of chemical traces
- Commission questions delayed testing of body samples.
- Lanjar faces summons over advocate general’s conduct.
KARACHI: The judicial commission probing the death of businessman Mir Raza Ali on Tuesday ordered the issuance of a notice to Sindh Home Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar.
Mir Raza, an IBA graduate and businessman, was found dead in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar a day after he went missing on July 28. His father has consistently maintained that his son was murdered and has rejected suggestions that the death was a case of suicide.
The latest proceedings came a day after the commission questioned several police officers over the handling of the investigation and issued a notice to the investigation team head, DIG Amir Farooqi, over the alleged withholding of records.
Raza’s father and sister appeared before the commission, while Police Surgeon Dr Summaya Syed also attended the proceedings and answered a series of questions put by the inquiry body today.
During the hearing, lawyer Jibran Nasir told the commission that samples collected from Raza’s body was sent to the laboratory after a delay.
The commission then asked whether such samples had a shelf life and if the delay could affect the results.
Dr Syed said delays generally did not make a difference, but added that it could not be determined whether any chemical trace had been lost because of the late testing.
She told the commission that delays were not usually seen in high-profile cases.
The proceedings took a tense turn when the Sindh advocate general objected, arguing that questions should be asked by the commission rather than by Nasir, the lawyer representing Raza’s family.
The commission responded by asking why the Sindh government objected to questions being asked on behalf of the family and remarked: “Are you hiding something?”
It further observed that a notice should be issued to the home minister and said Lanjar should be summoned in view of the advocate general’s conduct during the proceedings.
Following the intervention, the commission suspended the hearing and directed that a notice be issued to the home minister.
