Man burnt to death over blasphemy allegations in Swat

• Man lynched, police station torched in Swat’s Madyan.
• Eight cops injured in attack on police station.
• KP CM Gandapur appeals to people to remain peaceful.
  

SWAT: A man was burnt to death in the Madyan area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat district on Thursday night over blasphemy allegations, the local police said.

The law enforcers had taken the suspect into custody and shifted him to the police station, the district police officer (DPO) said, adding that later the mob took him from there and set him on fire.

Later the unruly group of people attacked the Madyan police station, torched it as well damaged the police vehicles, the DPO added.

"Eight cops sustained injuries after outrageous protesters stormed the police station," police officials said, adding that the suspect of alleged desecration died after being "tortured and burnt alive" by the mob.

Meanwhile, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has taken notice of the incident and sought a report from the police chief.

In a telephonic communication, the CM directed the police to take immediate steps to control the situation and urged the people to remain peaceful. 

In a similar incident that took place last month, enraged people attacked a house belonging to a Christian man in Punjab’s Sargodha district over an alleged desecration incident.

The situation turned violent when a mob attacked the man's house in the Mujahid Colony area, damaging his belongings and torching a shoe factory established within it. They also burnt tyres and damaged electricity installations in the area.

Upon receiving the information, a heavy contingent of police surrounded the area and shifted the accused and his family to an undisclosed location after rescuing them.

Several arrests were carried out by law enforcement agencies following the violent incident.