Police arrest six more primary suspects in Khanewal lynching case

• Twenty-one primary suspects arrested in lynching incident.
• 102 suspects being interrogated for suspected involvement.
• The Incident has been condemned at the highest level.

LAHORE: Police have arrested six more suspects for lynching a man in district Khanewal's tehsil Mian Channu over alleged blasphemy, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Rao Sardar Ali Khan said Monday.

The lynching occurred just 10 weeks after a Sri Lankan national was brutally killed by an angry mob in Sialkot.

The number of primary suspects in detention has risen to 21 after the apprehension of the new men, Khan said. 

Meanwhile, the Punjab police's spokesperson has confirmed a total of 102 suspects are being interrogated concerning the crime.

In the video of the lynching, the suspects could be seen inciting violence as they continued to beat the deceased man with sticks and threw bricks at him, Punjab's top cop said.

"We will arrest more suspects with the help of available evidence and videos," Khan added.

IGP Khan had earlier said police had registered a terrorism case against 300 unknown suspects, including 33 nominated accused, in a first report handed to Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.

The incident

The deceased, Mushtaq Rajput, son of Bashir Ahmed of Chak 12, Khanewal was described by his brother as a middle-aged man who was reportedly suffering from a mental illness.

Following reports that a man had desecrated the Holy Quran, hundreds of people gathered in Jungle Dera village after Maghrib prayers where Mushtaq was caught by the mob and beaten up.

According to eyewitness accounts, police arrived at the scene of the incident and captured Mushtaq, but the mob "snatched" him back from the police.

After tying him to a tree, the mob beat him up before stoning him to death.

The victim had been mentally unstable for a long time, according to eyewitnesses. His brother told Geo News that Mushtaq had been under the treatment of a retired army doctor for years.

Condemnation at the highest level

Prime Minister Imran Khan, in his reaction to the recent incident of the lynching, had said that the government has "zero-tolerance" for anyone taking the law into their own hands.

In a statement issued on Twitter, PM Imran Khan said that mob lynching incidents will be dealt with strictly under the law.

The premier said that he has sought a report from the Punjab inspector general of police on the progress of action against the culprits and police who failed to maintain law and order.

"We have zero tolerance for anyone taking the law into their own hands & mob lynchings will be dealt with full severity of the law. Have asked Punjab IG for report on action taken against perpetrators of the lynching in Mian Channu & against the police who failed in their duty," he wrote.

Meanwhile, Chairman Pakistan Ulema Council and PM's Special Representative for Religious Harmony, Allama Tahir Ashrafi, spoke at a press conference at Khanewal DC office, condemning the incident and saying the prime minister had ordered stern punishment against the perpetrators.

He asked the courts to make decisions in matters like this as soon as possible.