Police have booked Moulvi Umar Jan Sarhandi and three other policemen on the charges of killing a doctor accused of blasphemy by police in Mirpurkhas.

“In the case number 147/2024 registered in Sindhri Police Station, 45 people including the former DIG, two SSPs, two inspectors and Maulvi Umar John Sirhandi of Samaru area have been named,” Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar said in a post on X on Friday.

DIG Javed Jaskani, SSP Chaudhry Asad, and SSP Asif Raza were among the suspects . The case has been filed on behalf of the government.

The Sindhri police registered the case on the complaint of the slain doctor’s brother-in-law under sections 34 (common intention), 120-B (punishment for criminal conspiracy), 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender), 302 (punishment for murder) and 364 (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code; Sections 6 and 7 (terrorism/punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act and Sections 8 and 9 (punishment for torture/punishment for custodial death) of the Torture and Custodial Death Prevention and Punishment Act of 2022.

Dr Shahnawaz Kunbhar, who was accused of sharing blasphemous content on social media, was shot dead during a police encounter in Mirpurkhas on September 19, according to authorities.

In response to the incident, the Sindh inspector general of police has established an inquiry committee to investigate two cases registered at the Sindhri Police Station. Following the shooting, the IGP transferred the Mirpurkhas SSP, ordering him to report to the Sindh Central Police Office in Karachi.

Last week, Lanjar announced the removal of senior police officials from the Mirpurkhas Division and emphasised that the inquiry committee would determine whether the doctor was killed “extra-judicially.”

Meanwhile, civil society activists from across Sindh gathered at the Umerkot Press Club on Wednesday to protest the incident, with the demonstration led by the daughter of the blasphemy suspect.

On Thursday, Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar told reporters that the inquiry committee found that the doctor was killed in “a fake encounter”.

“No matter how powerful or high an officer someone is, respect and observance of the Constitution and the law is mandatory for everyone,” the home minister said.