By N Awan
KARACHI: WhatsApp messages obtained by the author appear to support the account of a medico-legal officer who told an inquiry into the murder of Karachi businessman Mir Raza Ali that he had remained in contact with a senior police surgeon while conducting the first post-mortem examination.
Dr Osama Sheikh, the medico-legal officer who conducted the first post-mortem examination of Ali’s body, told an inquiry commission headed by Judge Omer Sial that he had been in contact with Additional Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed Tariq, who also holds the designation of Police Surgeon, during the examination.
The WhatsApp messages, obtained from a source at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), appear to support Dr Sheikh’s account. The messages, beginning on July 29, 2026, show Dr Sheikh communicating with Dr Syed about the condition of Ali’s body, the gunshot wound, post-mortem findings, photographs and the examination report.
According to the messages, Dr Sheikh initially told Dr Syed that he was on duty and had conducted a post-mortem on a body recovered from Gulistan-e-Johar with gunshot wounds. He described the body as approximately two days old and shared photographs.
After viewing a photograph of the decomposed body, Dr Syed asked for details about the findings, identification and history. Dr Sheikh identified the body as that of Mir Raza Ali.
Dr Sheikh said Ali had been reported missing at around 4am on July 28 and that his decomposed body was found in a garbage dump around noon on July 29. He said Johar police brought the body to them and that Ali had gone missing from Ferozabad. He also said Ali was due to be married within days.
Dr Sheikh described an entry wound in the chest and an exit wound in the back and said samples had been collected for chemical examination. He subsequently sent Dr Syed a page of his post-mortem report along with photographs of the body.
Questions Over Gunshot Wound
The messages show that Dr Syed repeatedly sought photographs and further details concerning the gunshot wound.
On July 30, she asked whether there had been no gunshot exit wound and whether the injury could have been a single entry wound. She also requested a photograph of the exit wound and another page of the post-mortem report.
Dr Sheikh said the wound on the back left side of the chest had been photographed on his tablet and that he would send the image after returning home. Dr Syed subsequently asked whether a bullet had been recovered and requested its photograph if available.
Dr Sheikh later shared the pages of his handwritten post-mortem report. He said no bullet had been recovered, although there was a bullet wound to the chest, and said he would provide a photograph of the exit wound. He added that photographs of the exit wound were also available on the phones of two colleagues, Kamran and Shoaib, while police officers also had an image.
On July 31, Dr Syed again said she was particularly interested in the photograph of the back because she had not received it. Dr Sheikh instead sent several photographs showing Ali’s body lying on a table in a hospital or post-mortem room.
He later told Dr Syed that he wanted to speak to her about the case, adding that the relevant SSP and SHO were trying to contact him but that he wanted to speak to her first.
It remains unclear from the messages whether the two doctors subsequently spoke by telephone. Dr Sheikh later sent photographs of Ali’s body at the crime scene and said he had obtained the photographs and had mentioned the exit wound in them. He also said he could not determine why photographs he had personally taken were not appearing on his device and could not remember which mobile phone had been used to take them.
“No Statement Please”
The conversation took a different turn on August 1, when Dr Syed sent Dr Sheikh a message saying, “No statement please.”
She asked whether the post-mortem report had been submitted and when. Dr Sheikh replied that he had submitted it at 3pm.
Dr Syed then instructed him to bring the report to her on Monday, August 3. She said there were “many things” he had missed and that she would have them added, adding that they would discuss the matter before submitting the report.
Dr Sheikh replied that he would be there.
Dr Syed subsequently told him, “We have had a breakthrough in this case. Will tell you.”
Dispute Over Photographs and Cause of Death
On August 2, Dr Syed asked whether the body had been opened and whether Dr Sheikh had photographs.
Dr Sheikh responded by sending photographs in which a perforation could be seen in the heart. He said the body had been opened, that there was a perforation in the heart and that four samples had been sent for chemical examination.
Dr Syed questioned the wording of the post-mortem report, particularly its reference to the chemical-analysis report being “currently pending.” She questioned how the report could be described as pending if the samples had not yet been sent.
She also questioned whether the perforation in the heart was consistent with the entry and exit wounds and whether the heart injury matched the trajectory indicated by those wounds. She further asked who had been present during the post-mortem and whether Kamran and Shoaib had been there.
Dr Sheikh also shared a Facebook link showing a video apparently depicting Mir Raza Ali carrying a pistol and placing it inside a vehicle. Dr Syed responded that she had another video and asked him to watch it later.
The material states that, despite a planned meeting with Dr Sheikh on August 3, Dr Syed raised 14 objections to the first post-mortem report and sent them to the concerned authorities without meeting him. The following day, she also appeared on a private news channel to discuss the post-mortem report.
Questions Remain Unanswered
The conversation raises questions about the handling of the first post-mortem examination and the subsequent report.
Among the questions are whether Dr Sheikh failed to take a photograph of the exit wound or whether the image was lost or deleted from his device; why police officers were attempting to contact him before the report was submitted; and whether he spoke to Dr Syed about the SSP and SHO who were seeking to contact him.
Questions also remain about when Dr Sheikh first learned that someone had sent the post-mortem report to police, whether Dr Syed subsequently met him and made corrections to the report, and who submitted the version containing the alleged shortcomings.
When asked about the matter, Dr Sheikh said he had not submitted the report to police and that the first post-mortem report had only been in his and Dr Syed’s possession.
He also said he had neither met Dr Syed afterwards nor had she made corrections to the post-mortem report. Dr Sheikh said he received a WhatsApp message from SSP Nazeer Sheikh, who told him that he had received Mir Ali Raza’s post-mortem report.
The material states that SSP Nazeer Sheikh was contacted for confirmation but did not respond. Dr Sheikh also did not respond to the remaining questions.