OKARA; Eighteen people were arrested while 134 were booked on Friday for attacking a police station after an alleged blasphemy incident at village Behlolpur.

Sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) were added to the case, in which 29 suspects were nominated.

Earlier, a man was booked in another FIR on charges of setting the pages of the Holy Quran on fire.

As per the first information report (FIR), the complainant was passing through Behlolpur when he saw a village resident allegedly burning the pages of the Holy Quran along a mosque wall. When the alarm was raised, the village men rushed to the site. Hujra police responded quickly, arrested the suspect and registered a case against him.

As the news spread, a mob gathered outside the police station and attacked its building. The police had to shift the arrested suspect to a safer place.

Man accused of blasphemy also booked in separate case

As per the second FIR, on Thursday midnight, a mob carrying rods, bricks, stones and weapons gathered outside the police station, chanting slogans against the police. They demanded the handover of the suspect who had allegedly burnt the pages of the Holy Quran.

The police assured the mob that the suspect would face the law, but the protesters started throwing stones at the building, breaking its window panes. Contingents from other police stations were called to control the mob.

On the report of SHO Farrukh Shahzad, a case was registered against 134 people. Eighteen of them were arrested after their identification through geo-fencing, agency reports and the National Database Regulatory Authority (Nadra).

Shooting

A young lawyer was shot by his rivals near his office in Renala.

As per the FIR, lawyer Bahawal Shahzad, a resident of Chak 23/1-AL, was on way to the chamber when Khizar Hussain, Muhammad Shafique, Muhammad Ashiq and Khizar Bashir, residents of Chak 15/1-R, appeared on motorcycles and opened fire at Bahawal. The injured lawyer was shifted to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Renala where his condition was stated to be out of danger.

The suspects had attacked the house of advocate Bahawal in February 2023 and killed his mother. Both parties were involved in litigation in some other cases too.

On the report of Bahawal Shahzad, City Renala police have registered a case.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2024