KARACHI: The police investigation team probing the death of 25-year-old businessman Mir Raza Ali Khan has achieved a significant development, recovering a mobile phone SIM registered in the deceased’s name.
According to investigative sources, after completing biometric verification and all necessary documentary formalities, the SIM has been transferred and issued in the name of Mir Raza’s mother. The main objective of the move is to gain access to Mir Raza’s WhatsApp account so that backup data of his chats can be recovered and the investigation taken forward.
Sources said the police have also obtained some WhatsApp messages sent by Mir Raza to his close friends, in which he mentioned his dire financial and domestic conditions.
Statements of Guard, Mosque Officials Recorded
As part of the expanded probe, the investigation committee has recorded the statements of the security guard of a residential building located near the crime scene, as well as the Imam, Muezzin and committee members of a nearby mosque.
The committee has also prepared a detailed timeline of the activities of the last twelve hours before Mir Raza’s death, which shows that he was trying to secure investment and loans till the last moment.
Last Day Timeline: From Sharea Faisal to Kebab House
According to the police timeline, Mir Raza met a person on Sharea Faisal at around 5:45pm on July 27 and discussed an investment of Rs70 to 80 lakh.
However, at around 8:15pm, the person called and apologized for not being able to invest.
Meanwhile, at around 7pm, the bank informed Mir Raza that a loan of Rs10 million had been approved in the name of his sister. Later, after more meetings on Tipu Sultan Road and a late-night meal with a friend at a kebab house, Mir Raza continued to contact various people for financial help.
It may be recalled that Mir Raza mysteriously disappeared from the Ferozabad area on July 28 and his body was found near a guesthouse in Gulistan-i-Jauhar the next day.
Weapon, Key Evidence Still Missing
Although police initially tried to term the death a suicide, an exhumation and a second postmortem conducted at the insistence of the family and on court orders revealed clear signs of violence and injuries on the body, including a bullet wound entering from the waist and exiting the chest, broken ribs and chemical burns on the face, after which Section 302 (murder) was added to the FIR and the case changed course.
According to investigative sources, some positive evidence of the alleged murder and the weapon used in the incident have not yet been recovered, while identifying the lost evidence and the personnel involved remains a major challenge for the investigation.
Case Background:
The development comes days after the emergence of a 2-hour-17-minute CCTV footage from near the recovery site on the night of July 28-29, showing suspicious motorcycles and a police mobile present near the body for an extended period, raising serious questions over the initial response.
Earlier, the victim’s family had expressed reservations over forensics being conducted by the NCIA, after which the committee – now expanded to nine members – retrieved the victim’s phone and smartwatch to be sent to the Lahore Forensic Laboratory.
Family counsel Jibran Nasir has also written to DIG Amir Farooqi objecting to the inclusion of certain officers in the probe team.
The Sindh High Court Bar Association has demanded a transparent, impartial and evidence-based investigation and removal of senior officers, including DIG East and SSP CIA, from the probe, while the family reported a security scare on the night of August 22, alleging that police security was withdrawn without notice and suspicious vehicles followed them after a sit-in.
Mir Raza case: Sister says security withdrawn, followed by suspicious vehicles
