A day after a mob in the Swat valley lynched a man after accusing him of desecration of the Holy Quran, police on Friday registered an FIR into the incident. Meanwhile, the family of the lynched man have dissociated themselves from him and his alleged actions, according to information provided to Aaj News by the police.

A police station, the DSP office, and at least five vehicles were set on fire late Thursday night after a violent mob took away the accused from police custody and killed him, subsequently setting his dead body on fire.

Visuals obtained by Aaj News showed charred remains of a police patrolling vehicle, two police motorcycles, and two cars strewn across the courtyard of the police station.

More details about the accused emerged on Friday. The man has been identified as S*, a resident of Sialkot city. He is said to be around 40-year-old and he has been staying at a hotel in Swat Valley’s Madyan town since June 18, alone, according to the police.

Swat District Police Officer Dr Zahidullah told Aaj News that S* s mother released a video statement to the police disassociating herself from her son, who she said lived a major part of his life in Malaysia. “His father died 30 years ago. He was in Malaysia. When he came back the family got him married. He kept fighting with us and then left one and a half years ago,” said the mother to the camera in a video shared by the police.

The Swat police also have a copy of an FIR registered in July 2022 at one of Sialkot city police stations. The FIR filed by the mother claims S* assaulted his brother and mother with an iron rod and a pistol butt. The 2022 FIR also reads S* was a drug addict and was issuing threats to the family members.

The family also provided a newspaper clipping to the police containing an advertisment whereby the mother dissociated herself from her son, S*. In the video, she is heard saying, “We are Ahle Sunnat. We are Muslim. We do no wrongdoing. We have nothing to do with him. What he did or not, his relationship with us ended.”

The accused had divorced his wife, according to the police.

The Swat police chief, Zahidullah, told Aaj News that on Thursday evening a few items were found in S* s hotel room and the objects were construed as blasphemous. It led to an altercation followed by beating and soon the news spread to the entire area, he said.

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The DPO said police were also informed and when police personnel arrived at the scene they found people beating S*, who was taken into police custody.

The police party brought the accused to the police station and tried to file a report, but by then hundreds of people attacked the police station.

The mob took away the accused from the police and lynched him as police personnel tried to protect him in vain, according to the DPO.

The incident left five police personnel and 11 local people injured.