Hundreds of people were arrested for burning alive factory managers after taking down posters of Koranic verses. Photo/Al Jazeera
Several gruesome video clips shared on social media showed mobs beating victims while shouting slogans against blasphemy on Friday. Other clips show his burnt body, as well as overturned debris from what is said to be his car.
Many in the crowd made no attempt to hide their identities and some took selfies in front of the burning bodies.
Also read: Brutal, Mass of Labor Burns Factory Managers Alive for Taking down Posters of Quranic Verses
On Saturday, police spokesman Khurram Shahzad said up to 120 people were arrested, including one of the main suspects. He also said that the raids on the perpetrators were still ongoing.
“Police experts are investigating the case from various angles, including that some factory workers played religious cards to take revenge on the manager,” said Tahir Ashrafi, a religious scholar and the prime minister’s special representative for religious harmony, confirming the arrests as follows. quoted from Al Jazeera, Saturday (4/12/2021).
He also revealed that some workers said the manager was “very strict”.
Malik Naseem Awan, a resident and lawyer in Sialkot, a district in central Punjab province about 200 km southeast of the capital Islamabad, where the attack took place, told AFP news agency he was worried about the impact the incident had on the country’s image.
“I can’t tell you how embarrassed I am. It would be different if someone did this individually but the people present there watched it quietly, and no one tried to save him,” he said.
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