AHMEDPUR EAST – In yet another incident of growing religious intolerance and public brutality, an unidentified man was lynched on the charge of desecration after being recovered from police custody by a mob in Ahmedpur East tehsil on Tuesday evening.

According to police officials, an angry mob of over a thousand people stormed the Chani Goth Police Station at around 5pm, broke open its lock up and took the blasphemer to Chanigoth Chowk dragging him along the ground.  Before leaving, the mob also set the police station and four mobile vans on fire.
A police party rushed to save the man, but could not match the power of the mob although it resorted to aerial firing and used teargas shells. As the attack was repulsed four policemen, among them DSP Rana Naveed Mumtaz, were wounded, while on the side of the mob, five people sustained injuries.  However, the police party could not secure the blasphemer, who was brutally beaten to death and his body burnt afterwards.  During the whole episode that lasted for nearly six hours, traffic on the national highway remained suspended.
On receiving information about the incident, Bahawalpur Regional Police Officer Ahmed Ishaq Jehangir along with a police team rushed to the site.
He told the media that a probe into the “terrible” incident had been ordered under SP Investigation Muhammad Azhar Gujjar. He urged the masses to remain peaceful and extend cooperation to the police.
Meanwhile, the charred body of the blasphemer was shifted to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital for autopsy. A case has been registered against 80 nominated accused and over a thousand unidentified protesters.
Moreover, on the report of SHO Mohyuddin Gujjar a case under 295-B of the PPC has been registered against the victim and probe is in an advanced stage.  According to the officials, the other injured policemen included Sub Inspector Iqbal Chandia, Assistant Sub-Inspector Khan Mohammad and ASI Munir Baloch.