Mob lynches man over blasphemy allegations in Nankana

NANKANA SAHIB: An enraged mob lynched a man, accusing him of desecration of the Holy Quran, at the Warburton Police Station here on Saturday.

The tragic incident happened when a charged mob attacked the Warburton Police Station and seized the accused identified as Waris and killed him in the most brutal fashion.

Sadly the police, including its SHO, fled the police station as the agitated crowd rampaged through the police facility.

Deeply concerned over the incident, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Raza Naqvi condemned the incident and directed police and government high-ups to initiate an inquiry and bring those responsible to book.

The neighbours got hold of Waris and handed him over to the police after giving him a good thrashing. Soon afterwards, hundreds of people took to the streets to protest against the incident. They gathered outside the police station and raised slogans against the accused and demanded police hand over the accused.

The police refusal infuriated the raging crowd that attacked the police station, damaged the doors and smashed windows, forcing the SHO and other policemen to flee to save their lives. The violent group dragged the accused from the police lock-up, thrashed him and tore off his clothes. Raising slogans, they hauled him onto the roads, badgering him with stones, sticks and kicks and finally killed him. Later, some of them tried to set his body on fire, witnesses said.

District Police Officer (DPO), Nankana, Asim Iftikhar, reached the scene along with a large contingent of police. He was also followed by the Regional Police Officer, Sheikhupura Range, Babar Sarfraz. The RPO told the press the victim had been accused of desecration in the past also. He said an investigation would be conducted to ascertain all facts.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered an inquiry and asked why the police did not stop the raging mob. He said that nobody was allowed to take the law into their own hands.

The caretaker Chief Minister Punjab, Mohsin Raza Naqvi, formed a three-member committee and ordered an inquiry. He also ordered a departmental inquiry against the Warburton police for not trying to save the victim from the mob. Soon afterwards, IGP Punjab Dr Usman Anwar suspended DSP, Nankana Circle, Muhammad Nawaz Virk, and SHO Warburton, Feroz Ahmad Bhatti, over their failure to protect the accused.

Our correspondent adds from Islamabad: The Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) strongly condemned the incident. It described the inhuman incident as violative of the Islamic teachings and laws of Pakistan. It demanded strict action against those involved in the killing of the ‘alleged desecrator’. “If someone has committed a crime, the court should punish him. No group, individual or organisation can act like a court, arbitrator and executioner,” the PUC said. In a joint statement, PUC Chairman Hafiz Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, Allama Abdul Haq Mujahid, Maulana Noman Hasher, Maulana Muhammad Shafi Qasmi, Maulana Asad Zakaria Qasmi, Maulana Asadullah Farooq, Maulana Muhammad Ashfaq Patafi, Maulana Tahir Aqeel Awan, Maulana Muhammad Aslam Siddiqui, Maulana Aziz Akbar Qasmi, Allama Tahirul Hasan and others said that when the person accused of desecrating the Quran was arrested, it was the responsibility of the police to protect him and present him in a court of law.