KARACHI: A special medical board has exhumed the bodies of four more victims of the Keamari toxic emissions case and collected samples for chemical analyses to ascertain the ‘actual’ cause of their death, it has emerged.

The investigating officer of the case, Asghar Ali, told Dawn that the medical board members under the supervision of a judicial magistrate concerned exhumed the bodies of four children — identified as Ruqqaiya, Haleema, Azhar Ali and Rafiullah, aged between four and five years.

He said that samples were collected after exhumation at the Yusuf Shah Bukhari graveyard, where the all the victims were buried by their families in January following their mysterious deaths.

The IO said that the samples would be dispatched on Monday to the University of Karachi University for analysis at the Industrial Analytical Centre, where samples taken from four other children earlier had also been sent.

“The reports of the previous samples of four victims are still awaited from the laboratory,” the IO said, adding that nine bodies of other victims were also to be exhumed.

Report on earlier samples is still awaited; bodies are being exhumed on court order to ascertain cause of death

“The Sindh Environmental Protection Agency had also collected samples of air as well as substances used at the plastic recycling and stone crushing factories, but their reports are also awaited,” he added.

Investigators said that Sepa had collected samples from some 20 industrial units/factories operating in the locality, including 10 units/factories which were sealed after the ‘fresh’ probe was launched on the directives of the Sindh High Court.

The judicial magistrate (West), who is hearing the matter, had granted time till March 14 to the investigating officer to complete the investigation and file a charge sheet in the case.

Initially, police booked factory owner Khair Muhammad in a case registered under Sections 322 (manslaughter), 384 (negligent conduct with respect to poisonous substance) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Moachko police station.

Later, the police registered nine more cases against ‘unknown’ owners or operators of the industrial units/factories set-up in the Ali Muhammad Goth and its surroundings on charges of causing environmental pollution.

Last month, the health department had constituted a medical board for exhuming bodies of 18 people who died in January allegedly from inhaling toxic emissions in Keamari’s Ali Muhammad Goth. The victims, most of them children, were also found to be infected with measles.

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.

The six-member board is headed by Dow Medical College Principal Prof Saba Sohail. The members are: Prof Naseem Ahmed, head of the pathology department at the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS); Prof Zakiuddin, head of forensic medicine at the DUHS; a senior female medico-legal officer as well as the district health officer, Keamari.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2023