HYDERABAD: The body of nationalist worker Irfan Ali Laghari was exhumed on Tuesday from Mulan Muhammad Shah graveyard in Naushero Feroze following court orders and handed over to his family for burial. Earlier, the police had buried the body, which sparked controversy.
Sessions Judge Nadeem Badar Qazi ordered the exhumation and permitted the family to take the body to Civil Hospital Moro for a postmortem, despite one already conducted at Liaquat University Hospital (LUH), Hyderabad, on May 23.
Qurban Ali Laghari, Irfan’s brother, informed the court that police had unlawfully taken Irfan’s body to LUH and buried him on May 24. The judge had previously issued a show-cause notice to District SSP Bashir Ahmed Brohi for failing to comply with the court’s directive to hand over the body to the family or a non-governmental organisation.
Irfan Ali Laghari’s burial is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in his native village Bijarani Laghari in Moro. He is survived by a child and a widow who is reportedly expecting a baby. Another resident of the same village, Zahid Laghari, also died in alleged police firing on May 20.
Sindh Police Inspector General Ghulam Nabi Memon has formed a five-member inquiry committee to investigate the Moro incident that left two nationalist workers dead and resulted in partial arson at the Sindh Home Minister’s residence.
The committee is led by DIG Karachi West Irfan Ali Baloch and includes SSP Anti Vehicle Lifting Cell Amjad Ahmed Shaikh, SSP Shaheed Benazirabad Shabbir Sethar, DSP CIA Hyderabad Iftikhar Buriro, and Sub-Inspector Naek Muhammad Khoso. It has five days to complete its investigation.
However, nationalist leaders, including Jeay Sindh Mahaz Chairman Riaz Ali Chandio, have rejected the committee, calling for a judicial commission comprising Sindh High Court judges and the Sessions Judge of Naushero Feroze. Chandio accused the home minister and police of involvement in the killings.
The LUH postmortem report states that Irfan Ali Laghari died from a fatal gunshot wound to the face after three days of medical treatment. He had also sustained a gunshot wound to the leg. The report noted abrasions on his forehead, left foot, and left leg. The bullet that pierced his face created a 3.5-centimeter hole in his skull, while the leg wound measured 1.5 centimeters.
