Rescue 15 was informed on November 4 that a woman at the brick kiln had disrespected the Holy Quran by burning it and a charged mob had gathered around her house. Sub-inspector Muhammad Ali, ASI Abdul Rasheed and other police officials were riding a patrol vehicle on Adda Manga Road when they received information that a mob had gathered at Yousaf Gujjar’s brick kiln in Chak 59 and were torturing a Christian couple.
The challan said when the police reached the scene they found 500 to 600 people gathered there. The policemen said they tried to bar the mob from damaging the brick kiln’s roof which they were digging to throw couple in fire but they were beaten back and even tortured by the mob.
The mob captured Shahzad Masih and Shama in the presence of police and other witnesses including Iqbal Masih, Shahbaz Masih, Nazir Masih and Imran Masih. The police tried to rescue the couple but were beaten and pushed back and their uniforms were also ripped apart by the mob. Then the main suspects Yousaf Gujjar, Haris Bashir and others in the presence of police burnt alive the couple.
It is pertinent to mention that a copy of the challan was also submitted before the Supreme Court after which it had directed the police authorities to register cases against the policemen present at the crime scene.
The couple had two sons Suleman Masih, 6, and Zeeshan Masih, 4, and two daughters Sania, 3, and 18-month-old Ponam.
Previously, the Supreme Court of Pakistan on March 9 had directed the IG to personally supervise the case.
During the hearing, Justice Dost Muhammad Khan observed that the police failed to reach the spot at the time of the tragic incident. The court observed that as per phone calls data, it was revealed that ASI Abdul Rasheed had received the information one night before the tragic incident but did not bother to inform the high-ups.
The police told the court that 140 accused had been nominated in the instant case, out of which 81 persons had been arrested while efforts were in progress for nabbing the other 59 persons. The court was further informed that among the three main accused, two had been arrested while one accused was not yet held. The
court was informed that two police personnel were negligent of their duty against whom departmental action was taken.