KARACHI: The Sindh government has decided to order a judicial inquiry into the death of a young man after his family and relatives staged a prolonged protest sit-in against Special Investigation Unit (SIU) officials and demanded that they be booked in a murder cases.

Muhammad Irfan was arrested by the SIU police party along with his three other friends on October 22. He died under controversial circumstances inside the SIU Centre on the same day.

While the preliminary findings of a post-mortem examination conducted in the presence of a judicial magistrate concerned at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre suggested multiple injuries on the body, the police insisted that the youth died of heart attack.

The police had registered a manslaughter case against seven policemen and claimed to have arrested only two of them.

However, the case was rejected by the relatives who held an hours-long sit-in near the Edhi morgue at Sohrab Goth, demanding that the case be registered on their complaint.

Against this backdrop, Sindh Home Minister Zia Lanjar on Sunday took notice of the incident and asked the home secretary to initiate the process of a judicial inquiry into the case.

A spokesperson said in a statement that a thorough forensic examination and investigation of the incident should be carried out and whoever is involved must be taken to task.

The case should be taken to a logical conclusion with the help of modern techniques, he said, adding: “I feel sorry that the child has died in the custody of the police.”

The hours-long protest sit-in by relatives and community members ended on Saturday night after assurances from higher police authorities that justice would be provided to them, said senior journalist Shahid Jatoi, one of the protesters.

He said that the body was taken to his native village, Bait Ahmed, in Ahmedpur East on Saturday night, where thousands of people attended his funeral prayer.

He said that on Saturday night, the DIG and SSP SIU spoke with the relatives and himself and promised that after receipt of the final report of the doctors, Section 302 (premeditated murder) would be incorporated in the FIR.

The journalist said it was the demand of the heirs that the FIR should be registered on their complaint. However, he said they would welcome a judicial inquiry into the incident.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2025