Karachi police have registered a case against around 100 protesters following a demonstration on Shahrah-e-Faisal, where participants demanded the arrest of the culprits responsible for the death of young entrepreneur Mir Raza Ali.
According to a police report dated August 27, the demonstration took place near Nursery Bus Stop on Shahrah-e-Faisal at around 12:30am.
Police said the protesters blocked the road and disrupted the movement of vehicles while carrying banners and raising slogans over Ali’s death.
The report said police identified 20 protesters by name, while others were yet to be identified.
It added that some participants were carrying sticks and hammers and that a roadblock was created during the demonstration.
Police registered the case under sections 147, 149, 186, 341 and 504 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The police report said the case was registered against the protesters following instructions from the relevant Station House Officer (SHO). It also stated that further investigations will be carried out and that additional protesters could be identified.
Ali, a 25-year-old graduate of the Institute of Business Administration, was found dead in Gulistan-e-Jauhar after he went missing, according to his family and officials.
The case became mired in controversy after Ali’s family questioned the handling of the investigation and rejected the suggestion that he had died by suicide.
The family has accused police of failing to properly investigate the circumstances surrounding his death and of subjecting them to harassment.
A subsequent exhumation and second post-mortem examination found that Ali had been shot in the back and showed signs of torture, prompting murder charges to be formally added to the case.
The Sindh government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the death, with a judge of the Sindh High Court leading the inquiry.
The judicial process is currently examining the circumstances surrounding Ali’s death and the investigation conducted by police.
