Mardan lynching: Judicial inquiry ordered, police find no evidence of blasphemy

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak has ordered judicial inquiry into the Mardan lynching incident and a summary has been signed in this regard, KP government spokesperson Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani said.
The spokesperson said the summary has been forwarded to the Peshawar High Court.

Meanwhile, the postmortem report of Mashal Khan has confirmed that he died of bullet injury before beaten to death.

The police have yet to find evidence suggesting that he committed blasphemy. According to DIG Mardan Alam Shinwari, in the initial investigation, there has been no evidence found which points to Mashal committing blasphemy.

Mashal, a student of journalism at Abdul Wali Khan University, was brutally killed by an angry mob on Thursday over blasphemy allegations.

Family seeks justice
Muhammad Iqbal, father of Mashal Khan, had said that it was the responsibility of the institutions to investigate the incident. He said that his neighbours knew that how he had groomed his children. “I want justice as my son was innocent. I cannot even imagine that he will have committed blasphemy,” he maintained.

His grieving sister told reporters that Mashal Khan wanted her to complete her education. “It’s a conspiracy against my brother and it must be unearthed,” she added. Mashal Khan’s mother was also in mourning and extremely sad due to the sudden tragedy that befell her family.

How it happened
A report compiled by the university said that on April 13 at about 1:00pm, a group of students in the form of a mob stormed the Journalism and Mass Communication Department in search of three students, namely Mashal Khan, Zubair Khan and Abdullah.

It added that Provost Fayyaz Ali Shah, director administration and security in-charge, along with police official entered Journalism and Mass Communication department to bring the situation under control. However, the report added that the mob turned violent and beat up the students.

According to the report, Chief Proctor Dr Idrees and Ziaullah Hamdard, who is lecturer at Journalism Department, and director sports were already present in the office of the chairman Journalism Department. Later, the mob attacked Hostel Number 1 and shot Mashal Khan dead and were about to torch his body when the police arrived. It said investigation was being carried out and a detailed report would be submitted soon.

Case lodged
The police nominated 20 people including students, employees of the university and outsiders in the first information report (FIR). Four employees of the university and an elected councillor were among those charged in the case. Some of those nominated in the FIR were identified as Ali Hussain, Wajahat, Sani, Mujibullah, Imran, Anees, Shoaib, Nawab Ali, Arif Khan, Ali Khan, Afsar Khan, Sajjad, Afsar Afridi, Nasrullah alias Nasir Afridi, Ajmal Mayar, Immad, Abbas and Suhrab.

Meanwhile, the university also formed a six-member committee to probe the incident. It was also learnt that the university administration had earlier rusticated Mashal Khan, Abdullah Khan and Zubair Khan on the complaints of students that they were committing blasphemy.

Fake account
The issue of Mashal Khan’s Facebook account too has generated controversy. Mashal Khan during his life had alerted that his account had been hacked and was being misused.

No evidence
The chief minister said it was a brutal incident and nobody should be allowed to take law into their own hands. He added the reports so far received had no proof that the slain student had committed blasphemy.

“I am in contact with the police. The cops are collecting evidence and the judicial probe would be announced once the inquiry report is completed,” he told the lawmakers. He said it could be an act based on personal grudges or revenge as the slain student’s mobile phone data so far checked had no evidence of any derogatory remarks against anyone.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/198768-Judicial-inquiry-ordered-into-Mardan-lynching-incident

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