Police in Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan, have reported the arrest of 60 suspects in the lynching death of a man accused of blasphemy who was in police custody.
Some 800 people attacked the Nankana Sahib police station in a violent mob and killed the man in the belief that he had burned a copy of the Quran, the Muslim holy book.
Police have 923 videos of what happened and have already identified and arrested 60 suspects while continuing to work on further identifications, reports Pakistani daily ‘Dawn’.
The chief commissioner of Shaykhupura, Babar Sarfraz Alpa, has assured that the police will not hesitate even if the suspects belong to political parties or religious organizations.
«Operations are underway to arrest more suspects,» said Nankana Sahib district police chief Asim Iftijar. Among the suspects are members of a religious political party, he said.
Iftijar explained that 50 policemen tried to protect the detainee, but the large number of attackers overwhelmed them. Reinforcements were sent at once, but they could not arrive before the detainee was killed, Iftijar said.
The incident began on Saturday when pages from the Koran were found burned next to a photograph of the ex-wife of the individual, identified as Waris. A mob marched to his house, but police rescued him and took him to the police station.
Mosques in the area called for justice and hundreds of worshippers gathered in front of the police station until they finally stormed the police station and found Waris locked in a bathroom of the police facility.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
