KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Monday allowed an application seeking the exhumation of the body of Mustafa Amir, who was kidnapped and murdered in DHA, and directed the provincial health secretary to constitute a medical board to ascertain the cause of his death.

The direction came against an application filed by the investigating officer (IO) Muhammad Ali before Judicial Magistrate (West) — in-charge judge — Syeda Urooj Fatimah Naqvi, seeking permission to exhume the victim’s body.

After examining the IO’s request, the court ordered the Secretary of Health Sindh and the Director General of Health to constitute a medical board for the disinterment of the deceased — Mustafa — to determine the cause of his death, under the intimation of this court.

It also directed that the entire process be carried out within “the shortest possible time but shall not exceed seven days.”

In the application, the IO informed the court that during interrogation, co-suspect Syed Shiraz Bukhari disclosed that he and the prime suspect, Armaghan, had beaten Mustafa inside a bungalow in DHA. He further stated that they later fired two or three gunshots at him before placing his body in the trunk of a black Mark X sedan.

He added that they (suspects) later drove to Balochistan, poured petrol on the vehicle and set it on fire.

During the investigation, the IO said that it was discovered that on Jan 11, a burnt car containing a body had been recovered in the Hub area.

After completing legal formalities, the body was handed over to the Edhi Foundation, which later buried it in its graveyard, located within the jurisdiction of Mochko police station.

The IO requested the court to order the exhumation of the body to obtain DNA samples and to form a medical board for further investigation.

Regarding the case, the IO stated that on Jan 7, a kidnapping case of 23-year-old Mustafa Amir was registered at the Darakhshan police station.

During the investigation, the abductee’s mother received a ransom call from an international number, demanding Rs20million. After the ransom demand, sections related to terrorism were added to the case, the IO informed.

He said that acting on a tip-off and after obtaining a search warrant from the judicial magistrate (South), the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) team raided the prime suspect’s bungalow in DHA Phase-V.

However, when the raid team reached the bungalow on Feb 8, the suspect opened fire on the police upon spotting them, injuring a DSP and a police official.

Subsequently, the police apprehended the prime suspect, Armaghan and registered two additional cases against him for possessing illegal weapons and assaulting law enforcement officers.

The IO stated that the police had also detained two of the suspect’s employees, Ghulam Mustafa alias Sonu and Zohaib, who disclosed that Armaghan and an “unidentified accomplice” had allegedly murdered Mustafa.

Later, the police collected pieces of carpet from inside the bungalow as evidence, where bloodstains had been washed. He added that a forensic test confirmed that the blood samples taken from the carpet matched those of Mustafa’s mother.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2025