No concrete evidence Mardan university students committed blasphemy: IGP KP

MARDAN: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General Police (IGP) Salahuddin Khan Mehsud addressing a news conference on Monday said that there was no concrete evidence yet to register a case against Abdul Wali Khan students.

“We did not find any concrete evidence under which an investigation or legal action can be launched against Mashal, Abdullah or Zubair,” Mehsud told reporters.

Mashal Khan was lynched by an angry mob that accused him of committing blasphemy while another student Abdullah was injured.

The IGP informed reporters that prior to the murder, investigating officers had not found anything on social media but after the incident, there was a lot of activity.

Read more: Fresh arrests in Mashal lynching case, 22 suspects in custody

He added that police had sought the FIA’s help in the probe. “We have sought the help of FIA because there are manufactured, edited pictures and videos on social media sites for which we need an expert opinion of the FIA.”

According to Mehsud, a total of 22 individuals had been arrested in the murder case. "The suspects were identified through closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras," a police spokesperson disclosed. "The suspects will be presented in an anti-terrorism court."     

Responding to a question about the association of the arrested suspects with political parties, Mehsud said that the police will only consider the arrested individuals' suspects and not focus on their political affiliations.

“I will ensure that the investigation is impartial,” he said. “Details of the incident will be submitted to the Supreme Court tomorrow. It'll contain all major and minute details of our investigation,” the IGP KPK said.  

Refuting allegations that the police did not intervene in the matter, Mehsud said, “During terror incidents in Mardan several months ago, police and university administration decided that the university will hire private security guards for security. In this case, we were informed only after the dispute started and when Mashal was being dragged out of his hostel room.”

According to Salahuddin, deputy superintendent police Haider Khan put his life in danger and took Mashal’s body out of the mob’s possession.