KARACHI: The health department on Monday constituted a special medical board for exhuming bodies of 18 people who reportedly died last month from inhaling toxic emissions in Keamari’s Ali Muhammad Goth.

The board was formed in compliance with the order of a judicial magistrate who had allowed an application filed by the police for exhumation of the bodies so that their post-mortem examination could be carried out to ascertain the exact cause of their deaths.

According to a notification, the director general of Sindh health services has constituted a “Special Medical Board to conduct post-mortem/exhumation of the dead bodies of four deceased persons” — Razia, Shoaib, Shahid and Haleema — in a case (FIR33/2023) registered at the Moachko police station.

The victims were buried at the Yusuf Shah Bukhari graveyard, according to the notification.

Police Surgeon Summaiya Syed told Dawn that the six-member board was headed by Dow Medical College Principal Prof Saba Sohail.

Dr Syed, who is the convener of the board, said that other members were Prof Naseem Ahmed, head of the pathology department at the Dow University of Health Sciences; Prof Zakiuddin, head of the forensic medicine at the DUHS; a senior female medico-legal officer as well as the district health officer, Keamari.

She said that the board would supervise the exhumation of bodies of the four victims — one woman and three children.

However, she said that the date and timings of the exhumation would be decided later.

Meanwhile, Keamari SSP (Investigation) Syed Saleem Shah told Dawn that the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) on Monday collected fresh samples after unsealing some ‘factories’ situated in the residential area of the Ali Muhammad Goth to ascertain air quality.

He added that the process of exhumation of the bodies would likely to be completed this week.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2023