The killing of 25-year-old Mir Ali Raza, owner of the Wafflix eatery, has taken a decisive turn. A second post-mortem, conducted after his body was exhumed, has revealed that the young businessman was shot in the back — a finding that directly contradicts the initial police theory of suicide and lends weight to his family's long-held claim of murder. Main Developments On Saturday, an eight-member medical board, headed by Police Surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed, exhumed Raza's body from the Tariq Road graveyard in the presence of a judicial magistrate, his family, and the investigating officer. The procedure lasted one hour and fifteen minutes, and the body was reburied at approximately 1:33 pm. The board collected samples for positive identification, chemical analysis, and gunshot residue. Dr. Syed told Dawn that the cause of death has been reserved pending laboratory reports. She noted multiple injuries on the head and face, including fractures to the nasal bone and skull, as well as a fractured rib on the back, which she described as the entry wound of the gunshot that exited from the front. Read also: Karachi Crossfire Kills Passerby; Two Robbers Held Additional findings included injuries to the right flank and feet, and a congealed black substance in the mouth and throat. These details, according to the family's lawyer, point to a brutal attack rather than a self-inflicted wound. Background Raza went missing on July 28, and his body was discovered the next day in bushes near Shahi Qila Ground in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, with a gunshot wound. From the outset, his family insisted he had been kidnapped, tortured, and murdered. However, investigators said they found evidence suggesting suicide, a stance they pressed on the family repeatedly. The family's lack of faith in the initial autopsy report and the investigation led them to file an application with a judicial magistrate to exhume the body for a fresh examination. The board's findings have now substantiated many of the family's assertions. Why It Matters The case has become a flashpoint for public trust in Karachi's police and forensic processes. The family's lawyer, Advocate Jibran Nasir, alleged that senior police officials were more interested in humiliating the family than in finding the truth. He claimed they repeatedly told Raza's parents, “It's a suicide, accept it,” and even used months-old recordings to frustrate them. Raza's father, Mir Hussain, said the new findings brought his family peace, as they had maintained since July 30 that his son was murdered. “We saw the body and told them [that it was murder], but they kept saying, 'Suicide, suicide, suicide,'” he told reporters. “Why are they hiding the killers?” he asked. What's Next The family's lawyer has demanded that the entire investigation team be replaced, stating that he and the family have “no faith” in the current investigators. The medical board's samples have been sent for laboratory analysis, including the black substance found in Raza's mouth, which could reveal what he was forced to ingest. Until the lab reports are returned, the official cause of death remains reserved. The findings could either confirm the torture-murder theory or raise new questions. The demand for a new investigation team is now on the table, and it remains to be seen how the police and judiciary will respond.