Mir Raza Ali case: Mysterious guesthouse sealed, six employees arrested

KARACHI: Police on Monday sealed a guesthouse in Gulistan-e-Jauhar as part of the investigation into the killing of businessman Mir Raza Ali.

According to police, six employees of the guesthouse have also been taken into custody, while four people who arrived at the premises in a Swift car have been detained for questioning.

Police said a total of 19 people are currently being questioned in connection with the case. The newly formed investigation team will also question those in custody as part of the probe.

The development comes as investigators step up efforts to determine the circumstances surrounding Mir Raza Ali’s disappearance and killing.

Speaking to the media on Monday, Mir Raza Ali’s father, Mir Hussain, said the family had been informed about the Sindh government’s proposal to form a judicial commission but had conveyed to the home minister that it did not accept the proposal at this stage.

He also said the family had not been informed about the investigation involving employees of the guesthouse in Gulistan-e-Jauhar. He questioned why CCTV footage from the guesthouse had not yet been made public.

Police authorities had initially decided to constitute a new five-member investigation team to probe the alleged killing of Mir Raza Ali. The Sindh government later announced plans to request the formation of a judicial commission headed by a Sindh High Court (SHC) judge to oversee the investigation.

Mir Raza Ali murder: Sharjeel Memon moves NCCIA over claims linking him, son to case

Meanwhile, Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Memon has approached the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) against unidentified social media accounts over allegedly false and malicious content linked to the Mir Raza Ali case.

According to the complaint, false and defamatory material was being circulated against Memon and his son, allegedly in an attempt to damage their reputations.

Memon said allegations that he owned the guesthouse in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, where Mir Raza was allegedly tortured and killed, and that his son left for London immediately after the incident and had since been moving around with a bodyguard, had “no factual or evidentiary basis.”

He described the allegations as false, baseless and malicious, alleging that they were intended to malign him and his son for political motives.

Mir Raza Ali, 25, went missing on July 28. His body was found a day later in bushes near Shahi Qila Ground in Gulistan-e-Jauhar with a gunshot wound.