Mir Raza murder case: chemical examination reports expected today

KARACHI: The results of the chemical examination report following the sample collection during the exhumation in the murder case of young businessman Mir Raza are expected today, with results of nine reports due from the lab, as the investigation into his kidnapping and killing entered its sixteenth day.

According to investigation sources, Mir Raza’s smartwatch and mobile phone are also likely to be sent to the Punjab Forensic Science Lab in Lahore today, at the request of his parents, who had earlier asked for the devices to be examined there. Sources said members of the investigation team had met Raza’s parents the previous day.

New officers added to the team have re-recorded statements from business partner Muhammad Ahmed and others who had earlier obtained protective bail, sources said. The investigation team has separately reviewed all available CCTV footage in the case once again, noting that no evidence has so far emerged that would point to any particular suspect. Sources said SHO Ghulam Nabi Afridi and DSP Hanif, both part of the investigation team, have been assigned two separate tasks in the case.

Mir Raza Ali went missing on July 28 after leaving his home, with his body recovered the following day near Gulistan-e-Jauhar.

Business partner granted bail

Ahmed, Mir Raza’s business partner and childhood friend, was granted interim pre-arrest bail by the Additional District and Sessions Court East against a surety bond of Rs100,000, with police directed not to arrest him until further orders and Ahmed directed to cooperate with the probe. His lawyer told the court Ahmed had been cooperating but feared arrest amid repeated police summons. The two ran different branches of their business, Ahmed in Hyderi, Mir Raza in Bahadurabad, and a case against Ahmed has been registered at Ferozabad Police Station.

Investigation team’s efforts so far

A special investigation team headed by DIG Aamir Farooqi has been piecing together the circumstances of Mir Raza’s death, holding meetings with the investigating officer, committee members and CPLC technical support representatives. Investigators have reviewed evidence gathered so far and recorded statements from officers who first reached the crime scene up to DSP level. The former Gulistan-e-Jauhar SHO and DSP Arshad Afridi were also summoned for questioning.

The team has visited the crime scene, questioned a gardener working at a nearby nursery, and examined a “suspicious guesthouse” and its surroundings as part of efforts to establish the sequence of events. Investigators also visited the kitchen at Mir Raza’s residence in Gulistan-e-Jauhar and collected additional information considered relevant to the case.

DIG Farooqi has said the investigation is ongoing and that the media would be informed of the facts as the probe progresses.

With chemical examination reports from the exhumation and forensic results on Mir Raza’s smartwatch and phone now awaited, investigators continue re-examining CCTV footage and statements from police officials and witnesses, as the case remains without evidence pointing to a specific suspect more than two weeks after Mir Raza’s death.