KARACHI, May 17: Three detained activists of a banned militant group on Friday helped the police recover a chopped-up body, supposedly of the US journalist Daniel Pearl, from a vacant plot in Gadap Town off Super Highway.

Well-placed police sources disclosed that the three activists — Adnan, Haider and Tauheed — belong to the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi. But, Syed Kamal Shah, Inspector-General Police, Sindh, at a news conference on Friday evening, denied having arrested the three men. He claimed that police had acted on a tip-off from “a source.”

But the sources said that the three detained suspects were among the six who are allegedly the associates of Shaikh Omar, prime suspect in Daniel Pearl’s murder case, presently facing trial inside a prison in Hyderabad.

The sources said the three activists had revealed to the police during interrogation that the US journalist had been kept in a house in Orangi Town when he was alive. But after his murder his remains were burried in a desolated place in Gadap Town. Acting upon this information the police began digging the said plot for Pearl’s body on Thursday night.

According to sources the police did find a body but reportedly buried it again and waited for the medical board to arrive on Friday morning.

The medical board comprised police surgeon Dr Qasim Soomro, Dr Prof Tariq Mirza, Dr Hamid Parihar, Dr Prof Ghulam Ali, Dr Shafi Nizamani, and Dr Hafiz Athar.

A judicial magistrate, and two foreigners, believed to be FBI agents, were also present at the time of the exhumation.

The sources said the body was chopped-up in 10 pieces and kept in shopping bags. Two spoons, a sleeve of the blue shirt supposeldy worn by Daniel Pearl, and two ampules of tranquillizer were also found from the grave.

The doctors, preserved the body viscera in 16 jars which were taken first to the police surgeon’s office and then shifted to laboratories.

The sources said although the body parts had been badly decomposed, the heart, kidneys and lungs were in an examinable condition, and were sent for histopathological examination and chemical tests.

The fingertips, hair and pieces of skin were also preserved, they added.

According to sources the walls of one of the two rooms built on the plot from which the body parts was recovered, were blood-stained. Two car seats were also found there.

The 1,000 yard plot is flanked by Madaris — Fehmul Quran on its right and the other on its left is under-construction; Jamia Rasheedia is located at its back.