KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested the medico-legal officer over hiding evidence in extra-judicial killing of Dr Shahnawaz Kumbhar last year.

The FIA Mirpur Khas arrested MLO Dr. Muntazir Mehdi over allegedly hiding the evidence of torture on the arrested accused in the postmortem report. “Accused Dr. Muntazir Mehdi being questioned about the police officers involved in the custodial torture,” officials said. The FIA has registered case against accused under murder, terrorism and Custodial Torture Act. Dr. Shahnawaz Kumbhar, a senior medical officer who was accused of blasphemy, was allegedly killed in a staged police encounter in Mirpur Khas on September 19, after his arrest by Umerkot police on September 18, 2024, from Karachi. Following the direction of Sindh Police chief, Ghulam Nabi Memon, an inquiry committee had completed investigation of the Umerkot incident and exposed the misconduct of police.

The inquiry report, issued after intense public pressure, revealed severe violations of law by police officials from Umerkot and Mirpur Khas. The high court ordered authorities to place the names of all accused on Exit Control List (ECL) in Dr. Shahnawaz Kumbhar’s murder who was killed in a suspected fake police encounter in Umarkot. Earlier, a case was registered against 45 individuals including the high-ranking police officials. The inquiry committee, tasked with investigating the incident, confirmed that the police encounter was fabricated to give legal cover to an extrajudicial killing.