KHANEWAL: Punjab police on Monday arrested six more primary suspects for lynching a man in Khanewal district over alleged blasphemy, a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan took notice of the incident and sought a report from the provincial police.
In a statement, the Punjab police said with the latest arrests, the number of primary suspects in custody has risen to 21, while a total of 102 have been detained so far for their suspected involvement in the crime.
“The six primary suspects arrested could be seen in a video provoking the mob as well as torturing the victim with bricks and sticks”, a police spokesperson said. He said the prime suspects had been charged with sections of terrorism and heinous crimes in the first information report (FIR).
“The identification and arrest of more suspects are underway with the help of available footage and evidence,” the spokesperson added. Police teams conducted raids throughout the previous night while a secret operation was also underway, according to the statement.
In an incident that brings back the memories of Sri Lankan national Priyantha Kumara’s lynching in December, the middle-aged man was stoned to death by a mob over alleged desecration of the Holy Quran in Khanewal district’s Tulamba on Saturday.
The deceased, Mushtaq Rajput, son of Bashir Ahmed of Chak 12, Khanewal was described by his brother as a middle-aged man who was reportedly suffering from a mental illness.
The incident has drawn condemnation from political circles, with the prime minister tweeting on Sunday: “We have zero tolerance for anyone taking the law into their own hands and mob lynchings will be dealt with [the] full severity of the law.
Separately, in a press conference yesterday, Special Representative to Prime Minister on Religious Harmony Hafiz Mohammad Tahir Ashrafi said that the victim was not mentally sound and had been suffering from a mental illness for around 15 years.
“We have zero tolerance for anyone taking the law into their own hands & mob lynchings will be dealt with full severity of the law. I have asked Punjab IG for report on action taken against perpetrators of the lynching in Mian Channu and against the police who failed in their duty,” he added.
The FIR of the incident was registered at Tulamba police station on the complaint of police officer Munawwar Hussain under Sections 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly of people), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 302 (intentional murder) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
