Mochko mysterious deaths case: SHC seeks report on findings of medical board

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday directed the Sindh advocate general to submit a comprehensive report on the findings and recommendations of the medical board that was set up after mysterious deaths were reported from the Mochko area of Keamari in January this year.

The high court also sought details of action taken against the factories illegally established in Keamari. The direction came on petitions with regard to 19 recent mysterious deaths, most of which were of minor children, in the Keamari’s Mochko area allegedly due to toxic gas emissions, as well as the similar mysterious deaths in Keamari in 2020.

During the hearing, a division bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh and Justice Yousuf Ali Sayeed asked a provincial law officer and the police investigation officer about the progress in the investigation of these cases.

The SHC asked the Keamari SSP what action had been taken against police officials who did not conduct autopsy of persons died in the incidents. The SSP investigation submitted a progress report with regard to investigation into the deaths submitting that expert reports and post-mortem reports were awaited and after receiving the same, a final report would be filed.

The Sindh advocate general submitted that some factories had been sealed in the area and medical reports of four of the deceased had been received.He sought time to file a comprehensive report with regard to the medical board and its recommendation as well as action taken against the factories that were illegally established in the Mochko area.

The bench directed the advocate general, Keamari district commissioner and other officers to appear before court on the next hearing along with relevant record of the case.The Sindh health department had in its interim report mentioned that 19 mysterious deaths were reported from Ali Mohammad Goth, Mawach Goth UC 8, District Keamari, during 16 days from January 10 till 25. They all exhibited symptoms of fever, sore throat and shortness of breath followed by death in five to seven days. Furthermore, the symptomatic patients did not show any rashes or conjunctivitis, although the community complained of a severely irritating smell in the environment.

The petitioners, including right activists, had also approached the high court for ascertaining the cause of deaths in the Keamari gas leakage incident in 2020, in which 19 people had died and hundreds of others were affected due to mysterious poisonous gas leakage in the port area.

They had submitted that the federal and provincial authorities failed to protect the lives of citizens and no precautionary measures were taken by the port authorities to prevent the deadly leakage. They sought an independent inquiry into the incident and a direction for the government to pay compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased persons and affected citizens.