Punjab police said that officials had arrested 15 primary suspects in the case. In a tweet, police said that 85 citizens had been detained so far and the process to identify further primary suspects was underway.
“Raids are being conducted to arrest more suspects,” police said.
In a statement, the Punjab police spokesperson said that the arrested individuals were seen torturing the victim with sticks and hurling bricks in videos of the incident. He added that the suspects had been charged with heinous offence and terrorism.
“Work in underway to identify and arrest more suspects with the help of CCTV footage,” he said, adding that officials were also conducting raids.
“The Punjab inspector general and chief minister are personally overseeing the operation,” the spokesperson said, adding that those who take the law into their own hands would be punished under the law.
Earlier, Punjab Inspector General of Police Rao Sardar Ali Khan submitted a preliminary report of the incident to Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.
According to the report, a case was registered against 33 suspects and 300 unknown persons while sections related to heinous crimes and terrorism were also added.
The report informed the chief minister that the police have already conducted more than 120 raids at various locations and detained several suspects, while more raids were underway. A secret police operation was carried out throughout the night, with senior police officers present in the field, it added. The report said a forensic analysis of the incident’s footage would help identify the culprits and determine their role. Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday took notice of a mob lynching incident in Khanewal over alleged desecration of the Holy Quran the previous night, saying “zero tolerance” would be shown to the perpetrators and action would be taken against police offi cials who “failed in their duty”.
Ashrafi said PM Imran was monitoring the case, adding that no one should think of “running the country as per their own desires”.
He also told the media that the process to arrest the suspects was underway.
The PM’s aide said that ulema would meet the heirs of the deceased, adding that all Islamic scholars were of the view that no person possessed the right to kill another.
“The legal route should be adopted to lodge complaints instead of resorting to vigilante justice,” he said, adding that such actions were against the teachings of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).
