Edited By: Shankhyaneel Sarkar
Last Updated: February 13, 2023, 15:53 IST
Police in Nankana Sahib said that Waris was seized from police custody and lynched after the mosque urged locals to take law into their own hands (Image: Reuters/Representative)
A 800-strong mob overpowered some 50 policemen, took Mohammad Waris outside the police station, beat him to death and the set his body on fire
Pakistan police on Monday arrested 60 suspects who were allegedly involved in the lynching of a man in Nankana Sahib region.
The victim Muhammad Waris was taken away from police custody on Saturday morning by the mob, who beat him to death outside the police station, for allegedly desecrating the Quran and then set his body on fire.
The police carried out several raids targeting residences, businesses and other places to round up the suspects. Cop also told news agency the Dawn that 15 among those arrested were part of a religious-cum-political party.
Violent mob in district Nankana Sahib lynched a blasphemy victim to death. The man was held in a Warburton police station after allegations for doing witchcraft by pasting his ex-wife’s picture on religious papers. pic.twitter.com/OySRDNgTak— Naila Inayat (@nailainayat) February 11, 2023
Waris, who was jailed for blasphemy in 2019, was released from the prison recently, after being declared innocent by the courts. He was living alone in the Warburton police station area.
Following his release, the police received several calls from the residents regarding the desecration of the holy book. The residents told the cops that they found a desecrated Quran and a picture of Waris’ ex-wife on the spot.
The police initially rescued Waris from the spot, the Dawn said in its report, as the residents already took matters into their own hands. They managed to rescue him from the mob and were able to bring him to the Warburton police station.
However, the 800-strong mob followed the police force and Waris. Waris was kept locked inside the Warburton police station bathroom.
The police were trying to control the mob but few miscreants were able to enter the police station through a three-foot wide hole over its main entrance gate, which was there as the contractor who built the police station failed to pay attention to detail, the Dawn reported.
The police then added that while some gave incendiary slogans, the local mosque asked the residents to take law into their own hands after which the mob overpowered the police and lynched Waris.
The police said that 17 attackers were named in the FIR on Monday. They also gathered 923 video clips. They highlighted that 50 policemen were outnumbered by the mob. Teams are conducting forensic analysis on those videos to make more arrests. They added that 15 from the mob are being held directly responsible.
Lynching for alleged acts of blasphemy has become a cause for concern for Pakistan but successive governments have failed to take action or address this social issue.
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