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Thursday March 28, 2024

106 indicted in Christian couple killing case

LAHOREAn anti-terrorism court (ATC) judge Haroon Latif on Thursday indicted 106 people involved in burning alive a Christian couple by throwing them in a brick kiln after accusing them of committing blasphemy in Kot Radha Kishan. The court also indicted three clerics in this case for allegedly inciting people to

By Numan Wahab
May 22, 2015
LAHORE
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) judge Haroon Latif on Thursday indicted 106 people involved in burning alive a Christian couple by throwing them in a brick kiln after accusing them of committing blasphemy in Kot Radha Kishan.
The court also indicted three clerics in this case for allegedly inciting people to burn the couple alive for their alleged sacrilegious act.
It is pertinent to mention here that the police took seven months to submit challan of the case.
The court after framing charges against the accused has summoned ten prosecution witnesses by May 22 (today). The court also summoned the doctor who had conducted post-mortem of the couple.
The Kot Radha Kishan police produced the accused including brick kiln owner Yousaf Gujjar, Tajammul Hussain, Arslan, Muhammad Aslam, Allah Rakha, Haris Bashir, Waqas Bashir, Yousaf, Shakeel, Irfan Shakoor, Haji Akram, Akram alias Pappu, Atique and others before the court. The police produced two religious clerics including Maulvi Noorul Hassan and Maulvi Arshad Baloch who are accused of inciting people to burn the couple for their alleged blasphemous act. However, the third cleric, Maulvi Hussain is at large. All the accused who were produced before the court were declared guilty of the heinous crime under different section of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) in the complete challan submitted by the police. All the accused denied their involvement in the crime after which the charges were framed against them.
The challan submitted by the police stated that the Christian couple was burnt alive as the post-mortem report confirmed that the cause of death was burning with dry heat.
The police nominated 140 people for burning the couple alive, out of which 34 are still at large.
The challan read that tractor-trolley, broken TV, papers including ‘amulets’, broken lock, torn police uniforms and wooden rods were case properties and mob used rods to torture the couple.
It further read 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.