Wafflix owner, 25, kidnapped in PECHS; police investigate torture allegations
Mir Raza Ali, owner of the famous dessert shop Wafflix, whose body was found in Gulistan-e-Jauhar after being kidnapped from PECHS. SCREENSHOT/ Youtube
A 25-year-old man allegedly kidnapped from Karachi’s PECHS was found dead in the bushes near a wedding hall in Gulistan-e-Jauhar on Wednesday, with police suspecting he was tortured before being shot dead.
The victim, identified as Mir Raza Ali, son of Mir Hassan Ali, was a resident of PECHS Block 2 and owned the waffle dessert chain ‘Wafflix’ near Bahadurabad Chowrangi. His body was found in the bushes near Shadi Qila Wedding Hall in Block 1 of Gulistan-e-Jauhar and was taken to Jinnah Hospital for post-mortem.
Police said the body appeared to be one or two days old and showed signs of burns in some areas, making identification difficult. The victim was identified by his father based on his clothing. Police said a mark on the victim’s back was also found, while the exact cause of death would be determined after the autopsy report.
Read: Three suspects arrested in the Dr Akash murder case killed by gunfire from their accomplices (police)
Kamran Qureshi, an officer at the police station, said initial findings suggested the victim was tortured before being shot dead. He added that the police were collecting CCTV footage from cameras installed around the wedding hall to trace the suspects involved in the kidnapping and murder.
A case of kidnapping was registered at the Ferozabad police station on Tuesday on the complaint of the victim’s father.
According to the first information report, on the night of July 27-28, Raza returned from his shop in his car and informed his mother around 4 a.m. that he would be going out of his house for 10 minutes. He didn’t come back.
Her mother then called her cell phone, but it was turned off. The family searched for him and also contacted Madadgar 15 before registering a case of kidnapping against unidentified suspects at the police station. The police are continuing their investigation.
Condemnations and condolences are pouring in on social networks from those who knew the young entrepreneur while the authorities are criticized for the security situation in the city.
