Seven arrested from Hafizabad in crackdown against self-claimed 'faith healers'

HAFIZABAD: At least seven people were arrested Monday in a district-wide crackdown against self-claimed faith healers, a day after the custodian of a shrine tortured and murdered 20 worshippers with knives and clubs.

The arrests were made during police raids in Bijli Muhalla, Baban Bukhari, Khairabad, and Rahmatabad. Cases of fraud were registered against the arrested, police sources told Geo News.

On Sunday, Abdul Waheed, the custodian of shrine Darbar Ali Muhammad Gujjar in Chak-95 of Sargodha, confessed to torturing and murdering the 20 disciples.

Police said Waheed used a dagger and sticks to kill his victims, who were apparently given intoxicants before being slaughtered. The victims included four women as well as six members of a family from a nearby village.

Waheed had called the victims and asked them to visit the shrine before he brutally murdered them with two accomplices, police said.

Punjab Minister for Religious Affairs Zaeem Qadri said intelligence agencies along with police and the local government were investigating all aspects of the case.

Qadri said his department managed some 552 shrines in the province, but this one was not registered with it. "Investigators will also look into how this shrine was allowed to be set up on private land," he said.

Visiting shrines and offering alms to the poor and cash to the custodians is a very popular custom in Pakistan, with many believing it will help get their prayers answered.