President Zardari takes notice of mob’s justice

President Asif Ali Zardari has taken notice of the incident in which a mentally-ill person was tortured to death by hundreds of angry protestors for alleged blasphemy in Bahawalpur.

He expressed profound grief and shock over the harrowing incident a day after reports emerged about the matter. A statement issued by the president’s office said, “No one should be allowed to take the law into their own hands no matter what the crime is”.

Issuing directives to Advisor to Prime Minister on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik to conduct an inquiry into the incident and that the report be submitted to the Presidency immediately, he also asked concerned authorities to dispense justice according to the law of the land.

According to the reports, the man, who was beaten to death, was mentally unstable and was accused of blasphemy.

Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has also taken notice of the incident and has sought a report from the concerned departments.

Earlier, hundreds of protestors attacked a police station and snatched a mentally unstable man. According to the reports, they tortured him to death and burnt his body for allegedly burning pages from the Holy Quran.

The incident was taken place in a village on the outskirts of Bahawalpur after officers refused to hand him over to protestors. Locals saw a mentally ill person allegedly throwing pages from the Holy Quran onto the street.

Police took the person into custody and put him in the lockup after the news spread. Soon a frenzied mob gathered outside the Chanighot police station baying for blood but cops failed to stop the furious and violent crowd who got hold of the alleged blasphemer and brutally tortured him.

Although police personnel fired tear gas canisters to disperse the mob but the emotionally charged people refused to hand over the alleged blasphemer and instead started targeting the police officers.

Ghulam Mohiuddin Gujjar, the station house officer (SHO) of Chanighot police station while speaking to the media said that at least nine police officials were injured while trying to rescue the alleged blasphemer.

He further stated that angry protestors also set fire to several motorcycles and vehicles parked in the police station and damaged the residences of police officials.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jul 6 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.