LAHORE: A mob here stormed a police station on Saturday and lynched a man under custody and accused of blasphemy, police said, in the latest incident of religion-linked violence in the Islamic republic.
On Saturday, Muhammad Waris, a man in his early 20s, was taken into police custody after a mob attacked him for allegedly desecrating the Holy Quran, police spokesman Muhammad Waqas told Reuters.
However, the mob stormed the station, located in Nankana Sahib, took Waris out of the premises, beat him to death, and attempted to set his body on fire, Waqas added.
“Police could not resist them because a handful of officials were present in the police station,” he said, adding that police reinforcements were able to stop the mob from setting the body alight, and were readying action against the crowd.
A video of the incident shared on social media and confirmed as authentic by the police, showed a man being dragged through the streets by his legs, stripped of his clothes, and pummelled by sticks and metal rods.
Blasphemy is a crime under Pakistani law, which can carry the death sentence.
A number of police officials have been suspended because of their inability to stop the mob, a statement from the police said.
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