Muttahida activist's custodial death

MLOs' report shrouded in ambiguity

By Jaffer Rizvi

KARACHI: The 'Final Cause of Death' of Muttahida Qaumi Movement activist Shafique Kalia was issued by the Medico-Legal Officers (MLOs) in which they expressed the opinion that the deceased died of myocardial infarction (heart attack).

Reports of histopathalogical tests and chemical examinations of the viscera, which the MLOs themselves sent to the laboratories, however, contradicted their own opinion, as revealed by The News investigation.

It was also learnt that earlier, the MLOs of the Jinnah Post-graduate Medical Centre (JPMC) issued a different report but following a murder attempt on one of the two MLOs, the reports had been changed.

The under-custody activist died in the lock-up of the Garden police under highly mysterious circumstances in the early hours of Sunday, May 30 last. Garden police arrested him from the flat of his sister situated in Soldier Bazar police limits late in the night of Friday, May 28. He was carrying Rs 1 million as head money announced by the Sindh government.

Allegedly involved in more then 24 heinous crimes, including 15 killings, accused was a graduate jobless resident of the Soldier Bazar area. He was affiliated with Muttahida from 1987 and was considered a hard core activist of Unit 31.

Independent sources claimed that during the course of interrogations, the condition of accused, deteriorated and he was rushed to the JPMC and pronounced dead. Hospital sources, at that time, alleged that marks of torture were very visible over different parts of the corpse.

Later, police handed the corpse over to the next-of-kin. The family, sources further claimed, along with a large number of people, party workers and some leaders, took the corpse to the Civil Hospital and asked the authorities to conduct the post-mortem again.

MLOs, however, refused them. The protesting family later took the corpse to the Governor's House when governor Moinuddin Haider was in power. Following the demonstration, District South police registered a case against four officials of Garden police including SI Azam Khan, SI Yousuf Tanoli, ASI Tauqeer Ahmed and Constable Muhammad Siddique.

The corpse was sent to the JPMC for autopsy and the MLOs, Dr Irshad Rajpur and Dr Shahab Jonejo conducted the postmortem. They initially reserved verdict on the cause of death till the histopathalogical tests and chemical examination reports were received and after receipt of these, declared the death resulting from 'natural causes' saying: "Some natural cause of the death could not be precluded, that is, myocardial infarction".

Forensic experts and senior doctors of different hospitals and two former police surgeons, however, termed the post-mortem report as 'incomplete' and 'full of irregularities'. In number of interviews and discussions with The News experts said the MLOs pointed out 17 injuries, 12 of them external and 5 internal but did not conducted the 'complete postmortem'.

Forensic experts said that some of the injuries, which were pointed out by the MLOs in Column 13, were sufficient to cause death but they simply ignored them. While describing the wound, a former police surgeon said: "Contusion could be due to a thump or strike. I can explain you the matter with the reference of former lecturer in forensic medicine in BJ Medical College, Ahmedabad, India, Dr RM Jhala, in his book "Medical Jurisprudence" referred to a post-mortem stating: "The confirmatory test of the contusion lies in cutting across the injury. The confirmatory test of cutting through the livid area was of course performed. That test initiated the inquiry. Only on these points the police were exonerated of an alleged torture resulting in death."

"Both MLOs, however, did not conduct the confirmatory test even after finding contusion mark at the left side of the chest," he said. He said that compression of the air passage in the neck could cause death; compression (bilateral) of the neck vessels can cause cerebral insufficiency and death; pressure/massage of the nerve plexus of the neck leading to nerve stimulation (vesovegal) can lead to ceasing the heart to beat.

"The neck should have been dissected to look for the fracture of the Hyoid bone; any internal bleeding spots; any damage to the muscles or blood vessels; or any damage to wind pipe," he said. "Injuries, mentioned by MLOs, in a sensitive region of neck remained concealed in the post-mortem," he added.

The post-mortem report also stated that white patches were present over the inferior surface of the heart. Contrary to the opinion of MLOs, the histopathalogy report states: "Heart is in tact, smooth, grey to brown coloured, soft-to-firm in consistency. Coronary arteries show no obvious pathology. Similarly, chemical tests of 17 substances were performed and detected negative.

A former Police Surgeon said "The histopathalogy and chemical report clearly exclude the presence of any white patches on the heart and stated that no abnormality in the coronary arteries was found. In the light of these reports the heart attack (a natural death) had become minimum," he added.

Final report of 'Cause of Death' of Shafique Kalia, issued by the MLOs said: "From internal and external examination of the body, we are of the opinion that injuries mentioned in post-mortem report are not sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature. We are of the opinion that apparent cause of death cannot be drawn from the above-mentioned facts and findings. Some natural causes also cannot be excluded, that is, heart attack (myocardial infarction).