A commission investigating the death of Mir Raza questioned his business manager, Shahryar, also known as Sherry, about the police investigation, his workplace and events surrounding Raza’s disappearance.
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Shahryar told the commission that he had worked at Raza’s business for about two years and described Raza as a good person who treated him like a younger brother.
Manager Details Police Questioning
During questioning, Shahryar said he was called to the police station on August 3, claiming to that police officials made him wait for around three hours before being questioned for about an hour and a half.
He also alleged that police officers had abused him during the initial investigation and stopped him from joining protests over Raza’s death and from meeting Raza’s family.
Shahryar said a second investigation team later asked him personal questions about Raza’s mental health, debts, drug use and family. He said an officer became angry after he denied that Raza used drugs.
Business Sales Had Declined
The commission questioned Shahryar about his financial situation and the business. He said sales had fallen from around Rs130,000 a day to between Rs70,000 and Rs75,000 over the previous two or three months, but he said there was no major financial crisis.
He also acknowledged that his salary had been delayed for two or three months. Shahryar said he contacted Ahmed Bharday because he needed money to pay rent and received Rs10,000 in salaries twice.
The commission also questioned him about Rs29,000 allegedly taken by Raza and Ahmed from the business on July 27. Shahryar denied giving police some of the information attributed to him in their statement.
“I did not tell the police this. If they wrote it, they wrote it themselves,” Shahryar told the commission.
CCTV Footage Examined
He said Raza returned to the branch around 15 minutes after closing on July 27, according to CCTV footage. Shahryar said Raza placed a guard’s pistol in a vehicle before leaving.
Shahryar said he obtained the CCTV footage with the help of a person named Nauman, who had installed the cameras. He said Ahmed and Abdullah asked him to bring another person, Mubeen, from Liaquatabad to help access the system.
According to Shahryar, the CCTV footage was later shared with Ahmed.
Guard’s Pistol Reported Missing
He further told the commission that the day after Raza disappeared, Ahmed asked supervisor Kazim to open the shop at around 4pm. Later that evening, Kazim called Shahryar and reported that the guard’s pistol was missing.
Shahryar said he was surprised that Raza had taken the weapon because, according to him, Raza was not interested in showing off or carrying weapons.
Questions Over Business Associates
The commission also questioned Shahryar about several investors and individuals allegedly linked to the business. He said he did not know some of the names mentioned and had never heard of Ehsan Anis Shamsi. He recalled hearing Raza speak to someone named Usman once.
Shahryar’s mobile phone was seized by the second investigation team on August 17, he told the commission. He said investigators only took his phone password and did not carry out any further documented procedure in his presence.
When asked what he believed had happened to Raza, Shahryar rejected the possibility of suicide.
“I can only say that Mir Raza did not commit suicide,” he told the commission.
The commission also noted a discrepancy over the date of Shahryar’s statement. He said it was recorded on August 3, while the commission said the available record showed that statements had been recorded on August 2.
