MIRPURKHAS: Shopkeepers of the main market in Phuladyyoon town on Monday were forced to shut down their businesses by an angry mob after a health practitioner allegedly desecrated the Holy Quran.

The suspect managed to escape from his clinic but a large number of people held a protest, raised slogans and burnt tyres. They also set three shops, including the clinic, on fire.

The protesters surrounded the Phuladyyoon police station and demanded arrest of the health practitioner and a case against him.

Paramilitary Rangers, along with a heavy contingent of police, were called in to control the law and order situation in Phuladyyoon.

Mirpurkhas DIG Saqib Ismail Memon and SSP Javed Ahmed Baloch immediately arrived to supervise the forces.

The police claimed that the suspect had been detained and a case under Section 295-A of the Pakistan Penal Code was lodged with the Phuladyyoon police station against him on behalf of complainant Maulana Ishaque Mehri.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2019