KARACHI: While a Karachi University official claimed that the research student, whose body was found in the hostel of the HEJ Research Institute a day ago, died of “natural causes”, the police surgeon said that the exact cause of Mukhtiar Ali’s death is yet to be determined, it emerged on Tuesday.

The body of 25-year-old Ali, an MPhil student, was found in the washroom of the hostel. A post-mortem examination was carried out at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital late on Monday night.

Police Surgeon Summaiya Syed told Dawn that there were some ‘minor injuries’ on the face and leg of the victim. “All visceral samples have been collected for chemical analysis. Swabs have also been prepared as part of protocol. The cause of death is kept reserved till all reports are received,” she said.

However, a spokesperson for the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) claimed that Mukhtiar Ali had died of ‘natural causes’ inside the HEJ hostel.

Autopsy found young Mukhtiar Ali suffered ‘minor injuries’, says police surgeon

In a statement issued on Tuesday, he said that the student had gone to the common bathroom, located on the first floor of the hostel, where the ICCBS security along with some students had found him dead. He was taken to the KU clinic where doctors confirmed his death.

Meanwhile, an official of the HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry said that the cause of Mukhtiar Ali’s death was “cardiac arrest” as per the post-mortem report.

He claimed that the student had no issues, like anxiety or depression and mental pressure of any kind nor did he have any issue with his supervisor.

He said there were some people were trying to link Ali’s death to the suicide of another MPhil student Nadia Ashraf. “All such rumours are completely fake,” he said.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2023