Murtaza Bhutto

A: The body was examined for about an hour. What we were trying to do was
to confirm the postmortem report conducted earlier. The left wound which
was the exit wound for the bullet was opened and matched with the excised
portion which was with the board members given by a medicolegal officer.
The right side wound was 3 cm from the eye. The excised wound was also
from the right and not the left side.
Q: What was the cause of death and the range of firing?
A: It was fired from a close range, from a distance of about three feet and the
death was homicidal.
Q: Any difference of opinion on the point of distance among the board
members?
A: No. There was no difference of opinion. Dr. Tariq Mirza had brought a
book on jurisprudence to support the theory that there was charring and
burnt hair and the distance was less than two feet. A detailed discussion took
place on the point of distance and they came to the conclusion that he was
fired from a close range and it could not be less than two feet.
Q: Are you aware of such firearms which when fired cause no charring?
A: No. I don't know.
Q: Why a handwritten report was issued and why it was not typed and there
were additions, corrections made in the report?
A: There was no time for typing because no typist was available and the
police wanted the report on the same day.
Tribunal: Our typists sits till 8 pm and they begin their work in the morning.
The witness said the chairman of the board, Dr. Shafi Quraishy, wanted the
report to be ready the same day to be submitted to the health secretary.
Q: The composition of the board shows that except Dr. Mohammad Ali Shah
from A. O. Clinic, all the other eight were government doctors. Are there no
orthopaedic surgeons available with the government?
Murtaza Bhutto; Copyright © www.bhutto.org
313