Police get remand of main accused in Mashal murder case

MARDAN: District and Sessions Judge Mardan handed over the main accused Mohammad Arif to the police on a three-day physical remand in the lynching case of Mashal Khan.

The police produced Mohammad Arif before District and Sessions Judge Abdur Rauf. The security officers prayed the court to give the accused in police remand.

On Thursday, the police arrested Mohammad Arif, former tehsil councillor of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), from Chamtar village in Mardan.

With the arrest of Mohammad Arif, the number of the accused apprehended in the Mashal Khan murder case has reached 60. However, two suspects, including Pakhtun Students Federation (PkSF) activists Sabirullah Mayar and Asad Katlang are still at large.

It may be noted that on April 13, 2017, a mob of students, employees of Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan and some outsiders lynched Mashal Khan, a student of Journalism and Mass Communication Department, after accusing him of committing blasphemy.

The anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Haripur jail announced the decision of Mashal lynching case on 7 February. The court awarded death sentence to one accused identified as Imran.

The court announced two time life imprisonment (50 years) to three accused including Fazle Raziq, son of Fazle Khaliq, Mujeebullah, son of Said Rehman, and Ashfaq Khan, son of Khan Bahadar.

The ATC judge also awarded three time life imprisonment (75 years) to two accused including Mudassir Bashir, son of Muhammad Bashir, and Bilal Bakhsh, son of Nabi Bakhsh.

The court awarded four years sentence to 25 accused with the observation that the prosecution had not been able to prove their involvement in any act of violence or aggression on the body of Mashal Khan.