Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday vowed to counter mob lynching 'full severity of law' in the country as the number of arrested prime suspects in the Khanewal incident, where a charged mob lynched a man over alleged desecration of the Holy Quran in Punjab's district, rose from 62 to 85 after police nabbed 15 more suspects.
According to the Punjab government, search operations were under way for the arrest of other suspects and the police were looking into forensics and video footage for tracing the suspects.
As per the Punjab police spokesperson, the 15 prime suspects were identified as Mohammad Yaqub, Kashif, Mohammad Riaz, Saqlain, Mohammad Shaan, Asif, Nadeem, Qaiser Nazir, Abdul Ghani, Mohammad Aslam, Mohammad Amir, Ejaz, Mehboobur Rehman, Mohammad Bilal, and Ali Sher.
The Punjab police also shared the development in a tweet.
According to the FIR, which was shared by CM Punjab Updates Twitter account, the case registered under Sections 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly of people), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 302 (intentional murder) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
The 62 suspects were arrested in 120 raids conducted in the area on Saturday night as per the initial inquiry report submitted to Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar. Moreover, it has registered the case against 300 unidentified persons.
On the directives of the Punjab chief minister and the IG police, the cops continued the "covert operation" throughout the night. "Taking the law into one's own hands will not be allowed," it read.
The horrific incident took place three months after the Sialkot tragedy, where a Sri Lankan factory manager was killed by his factory workers on allegations of blasphemy.
The incident, which widspread criticism, was also condemned by Prime Minister Imran Khan. The premier in a tweet said that there would be "zero tolerance" for anyone taking the law into their hands and mob lynchings would be dealt with "full severity of the law."
He further asked the Punjab IG for report on action taken against perpetrators of the lynching in Mian Channu and against the police who failed in their duty.
Federal ministers also condemned the incident and urged the law enforcement agencies to enforce law.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry blamed the "destructive extremism" in the country's education system and stressed the need for reforms in school, jail, and religious education to "save society from destruction."
Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari said Punjab government must "immedialtey take action against police that watched it happen" and the perpetrators. "Laws exist - the police must enforce these laws & not allow mobs to rule the day," she added in a tweet.
