The owner of popular dessert chain Wafflix, 25-year-old Mir Raza Ali, was found dead in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar on Wednesday, days after he was allegedly abducted from outside his home in the city’s PECHS area.
Police recovered Raza’s body from bushes near Shadi Qila wedding hall in Gulistan-e-Jauhar Block 1 and shifted it to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for a post-mortem examination.
According to investigators, the body appeared to be one to two days old and bore apparent burn marks, making identification difficult. Raza’s father identified him through his clothing. Police also found an injury mark on his back, while the exact cause of death will be confirmed after the post-mortem report.
Station House Officer Kamran Qureshi said preliminary evidence suggests the young entrepreneur was tortured before being shot dead. Police are reviewing CCTV footage from the area surrounding the wedding hall to identify and trace those responsible for the abduction and murder.
A kidnapping case had been registered at Ferozabad Police Station on Tuesday following a complaint filed by the victim’s father.
According to the FIR, Raza returned home from his Wafflix outlet near Bahadurabad Chowrangi during the night of July 27–28. At around 4am, he informed his mother that he was stepping outside for about 10 minutes but never returned.
When his mother later tried to contact him, his mobile phone was switched off. The family searched for him, alerted Madadgar 15, and subsequently filed a kidnapping case against unidentified suspects.
Police have launched an investigation into the alleged abduction and killing.
In a separate case earlier, a young doctor named Akash was shot dead during a bank robbery in Karachi.
Doctor Akash was caught in an exchange of gunfire between suspected robbers and a bank security guard near Teen Talwar in Karachi on Monday, police said.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) South Mahzoor Ali said the victim, identified as Dr Akash, had withdrawn cash from a bank and was travelling with his father and cousin to another bank when the incident occurred.
According to the police, the family’s vehicle stopped outside the bank when armed suspects approached from behind. Believing the occupants to be robbers, the bank’s security guard opened fire, prompting the suspects to return fire.
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