The Sindh government on Wednesday recommended that the Sindh High Court (SHC) launch a judicial inquiry into the killing of Dr Shahnawaz Kumbhar, a blasphemy suspect shot dead and whose body was desecrated, triggering widespread outcry by rights groups.

Dr Shahnawaz, accused of sharing blasphemous posts on social media, was shot dead during a gun battle with the police in Mirpurkhas on September 19, authorities said.

After the ‘encounter’, the body was handed over to the family, who brought it to Janhero — the native village of the suspect — for burial. However, they had to escape after a mob descended on them to snatch the body.

The family fled to Nabisar Thar, where they were pursued by zealots who did not let them bury the slain suspect. However, upon returning to Janhero with the body hidden in a car, a mob managed to snatch the corpse and set it on fire.

On September 26, Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar presented the findings of an inquiry into the killing of the doctor, saying the probe found that police “staged the encounter”.

In its letter to the SHC today, the Sindh Home Department said: “It has now become imperative that [a] judicial inquiry may be conducted into the subject matter incident in order to ascertain the real facts and fix responsibility on the delinquent police officers/officials and individuals in the interest of justice.”

The letter said that a committee constituted by the Sindh inspector general of police (IGP) found that the “police encounter” in which Dr Shahnawaz was killed was staged.

The home department urged the SHC to launch the judicial inquiry under a serving high court judge.