Fresh arrests in Mashal lynching case, 22 suspects in custody

MARDAN: The police on Monday apprehended additional suspects of involvement in killing Mashal Khan -- the Abdul Wali Khan University Student who was accused of committing blasphemy and killed by an angry mob on Thursday.

The total number of individuals arrested for involvement in the murder has gone up to 22, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said.

"The suspects were identified through closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras," a police spokesperson disclosed. "The suspects will be presented in an anti-terrorism court."     

Read more: Mashal Khan murder case reviewed under supervision of IG

The footage obtained from CCTV cameras installed in the university premises along with recordings obtained by the police from cellular phones played a significant part in the arrests.

Earlier on Saturday, the authorities apprehended presented seven suspects for Khan's murder.

The civil court announced a one-day police remand of the arrested individuals on Sunday.

Eight other suspects arrested in the murder case are presently in a four-day police remand.

Read more: Imam-e-Kaaba says wrong blasphemy accusations must be dealt with strictly

According to The News, a report compiled by the university said that on April 13 at about 1.00 PM, a group of students in the form of a mob stormed the Journalism and Mass Communication Department in search of three students, including Mashal Khan.

The report added that Provost Fayyaz Ali Shah, director administration and security in-charge, along with police officials entered the Journalism and Mass Communication department to bring the situation under control.

However, the report states that the mob turned violent and beat up the students.

Read more: Khawaja Asif condemns lynching of Abdul Wali Khan University student

According to the report, Chief Proctor Dr Idrees and Ziaullah Hamdard, who is a lecturer at Journalism Department, and director sports were already present in the office of the chairman Journalism Department.

Later, the mob attacked Hostel Number 1 and shot Mashal Khan dead and were about to burn his body when the police arrived. It said an investigation was being carried out and a detailed report would be submitted soon.