Lahore, Feb 14 (PTI) An enraged mob attacked and injured a Shia scholar for allegedly burning the pages of a religious book in Pakistan’s Punjab province, where a middle-aged mentally challenged man was stoned to death a day earlier over charges of blasphemy.
Dozens of people carrying clubs, bricks and other objects surrounded the house of the scholar in Tandlianwala, Faislabad district, some 180 kms from Lahore, over blasphemy allegations on Sunday. However, police reached at the spot and rescued him, police officer Mubashar Maikan said.
The police shifted him to an undisclosed location. His family was also relocated to another area for safety reasons.
The province has witnessed two deaths related to mob lynching in the past two months.
On Saturday, mentally challenged Mushtaq Ahmed, a resident of Bara Chak village, was stoned to death and his body hung from a tree by a mob of over 300 people for allegedly desecrating Holy Quran in Jungle Derawala village in Khanewal district in the province, sparking nationwide outrage.
“Police have arrested 105 including 21 main suspects in the Khanewal lynching case, a senior officer of Punjab police told PTI on Monday.
He said the police have arrested the suspects through CCTV footage.
“We will ensure that all suspects involved in the incident are arrested and put on trial in an anti-terrorism court at the earliest, he said.
Meanwhile, the Punjab chief minister office also uploaded the pictures of the arrested prime suspects on its Twitter account and said those involved in this heinous crime will be brought to justice.
Opposition Pakistan People’s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has demanded a transparent investigation into the incident.
“Pakistan’s image in the international community is being damaged due to these massacres by mobs at public places. If angry mobs are left unchecked, the whole society will become insecure. All the stakeholders must come together on one page to stop the menace. If the rule of law is not ensured, an unstoppable tradition of taking the law into one’s own hands will be set, Bilawal said in a statement.
The incident is a grim reminder of Sialkot lynching of Sri Lankan nation Priyantha Kumara, 47, whose body was set on fire over allegations of blasphemy in last December.
Pakistan has extremely strict blasphemy laws against defaming Islam, including the death penalty, and rights campaigners say they are often used to settle scores in the Muslim majority country.