Christian couple lynching: ATC indicts 106 suspects

Tauqir Ghumman Published May 21, 2015

LAHORE: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Thursday indicted 106 suspects in the Kot Radha Kishan Christian couple lynching that took place last year.

The court has also issued summons for tomorrow for witnesses in the case in order to record their statements against the suspects involved in Shama and Shahzad's lynching.

The indictment of the 106 came after the police submitted a challan (charge-sheet) against the suspects at the ATC in Lahore today.

The challan states that Maulvi Mohammad Hussain, Maulvi Arshad Baloch and Maulvi Noorul Hassan were involved in persistent provocative speech against the couple which led to the assembly of 400 people as a mob who then burnt Shama and Shahzad alive.

Read: Christian couple beaten to death for 'desecrating Quran': police

After the challan was presented at the hearing, the court also held Yousaf Gujjar, the owner of the brick kiln where the couple was beaten to death, responsible.

The enraged mob beat the Christian couple to death in November last year for allegedly desecrating a copy of the Holy Quran and burnt their bodies in the brick kiln where they worked.

The incident took place in the town of Kot Radha Kishan, some 60 kilometres southwest of Lahore.

Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan, with even unproven allegations often prompting mob violence. Anyone convicted, or even just accused, of insulting Islam, risks a violent and bloody death at the hands of vigilantes.

Take a look: Tracing footsteps in Kot Radha Kishan

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Saad

May 21, 2015 02:43pm

Lack of education is the real issue

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Nazir

May 21, 2015 02:44pm

Anarchy destroy nations.The judge has a huge responsibility on his shoulder but I hope he plays his part in restoring this nations faith in rule of law. I hope all those who took part in this gruesome act of lynching/burning the most weak and vulnerable gets their due punishment. This will send a clear message that this country does not belong just to those sporting beards but to every one including minorities. As a country if we have any responsibility, it is to look after and take care of minorities not to suppress them.

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vcbhutani

May 21, 2015 03:01pm

Please allow me to relate an incident from history. During the tenure of the viceroy Lord Curzon (1899-1905), a British army unit was marching in Burma. Finding a woman working in a field, some men of the unit raped her and then left her in the field and went their way. The incident was reported to the officers. The matter found its way to the Commander-in-Chief's table and finally the file came to the viceroy's table. Everybody had said that the guilty men had not been identified and that it was not possible to find out from the large number of men in the unit who the guilty ones were. They recommended the matter should be filed. Lord Curzon read the file, knew that an offence had been committed, and the guilty ones were in the unit but no one was coming forward to identify them. He decided to give punishment to the entire unit and posted the whole unit to Aden, which was then under the viceroy and an extremely unpleasant, unhealthy, and unpopular place of posting in British India.

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S.M.Shabbir

May 21, 2015 03:04pm

shame - something which give guilt for being majority

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Falcon

May 21, 2015 03:05pm

Good. Now, please send these people for punishment as well.

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Sunil

May 21, 2015 03:15pm

There was a maulvi, who must be charged for inciting hatred towards the couple.

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JohnAbraham

May 21, 2015 03:24pm

Let's see

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ehsan

May 21, 2015 04:08pm

Lets hope all these people get what they deserve

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Nasser

May 21, 2015 05:07pm

All talk; no action; business as usual!

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Seedoo

May 21, 2015 06:14pm

Please run the due process and punish the guilty ones. Pakistani authorities must send a clear strong signal to everyone in Pakistan: "No lynch mobs will be tolerated. If you participate in persecution of anyone, especially minorities, authorities will catch you and punish you".

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Aftab Ahmed

May 22, 2015 02:33am

Sincerely hope this time you can hang the Butchers. Do not forget; this is the same snake that is killing your own also (the Agha Khans; the Mirzais; the Hindus; the Christians; and the Shias), If you do not; it is bound to come back to you as well. "All that goes UP; must come DOWN"

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hakim

May 22, 2015 02:47am

Why does it one whole year to issue a challan? Would it also take one year if a village of christians had burnt a muslim couple for desecrating a copy of bible? Think about it! We have to do away with discrimination embedded in our constituency. Go blasphemy law go. No place for it in a civilized society.

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Blue Saffron

May 22, 2015 02:58am

The guilty must be punished to the fullest extent of law. The importance of minorities are reflected on the Pakistani flag. To protect minorities is to uphold the Pakistani flag.

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