On Sunday, police arrested 85 people, including 15 main suspects, in connection with the lynching of a man in Khanewal district for alleged blasphemy.
Mushtaq Rajput, son of Bashir Ahmed of Chak 12, Khanewal, was described as a middle-aged man who was reportedly suffering from mental illness by his brother.
Video footage was used to aid in the identification and arrest of the criminals, according to Punjab police.
Hundreds of people gathered in Jungle Dera village after Maghrib prayers after hearing that a man had desecrated the Holy Quran, and Mushtaq was apprehended by the mob, who began beating him.
According to eyewitness accounts, police arrived on the scene and apprehended Mushtaq, but the crowd kidnapped him again.
The mob beat him up before stoning him to death after tying him to a tree.
The victim had been mentally disturbed for a long time, according to observers. Mushtaq has been receiving therapy from a retired army doctor for years, according to his brother.
A Sri Lankan national was lynched in Sialkot just ten weeks prior.
In an initial report to Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, IGP Rao Sardar claimed police had initiated a terrorism investigation against 300 unknown individuals, including 33 nominated accused.
According to the IGP, the police launched 120 raids and seized persons, with the accused including the main suspects. The police would conduct forensic investigation of available evidence to identify further suspects footage. Police conducted their secret operation all night on orders from the CM and IGP, and all top police officers remained in the field.
Allama Tahir Ashrafi, chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council and the Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Religious Harmony, spoke at a press conference at the Khanewal DC office, condemning the incident and stating that the prime minister had ordered stern punishment against the perpetrators.
He urged the courts to make judgements on such cases as quickly as possible.
“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 said.
