Over 75 suspects, including members of the radical Tehreek Laibbaik Pakistan (TLP) outfit, have been arrested for allegedly lynching a blasphemy-accused man in Punjab province of Pakistan, police said on Monday.
A violent mob on Saturday stormed the police station at Warburton in Nankana Sahib and took custody of Waris Ali Issa, who was arrested for allegedly desecrating the holy book, stripped him naked, and dragged him into the streets before beating him to death.
FIR against more than 800 suspects
An FIR has been registered against over 800 suspects for killing Waris, attacking police personnel, and ransacking the police station under terrorism and different sections of the Pakistan Penal Code.
“So far we have arrested over 75 suspects as identification of more suspects is in the process through various mobile video and CCTV clips,” Nankana Sahib District Police Officer (DPO) Asim Iftikhar said on Monday.
He said activists of a religious outfit were also involved in the brutal killing of Waris.
According to the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS)’s last year report, at least 89 citizens have been killed and over 1,415 allegations, as well as cases of blasphemy, have been reported in Pakistan since the creation of the Islamic country.
The report says that between 1947 and 2021, 18 women and 71 men were extra-judicially killed over blasphemy accusations.
( With inputs from PTI)
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