FAISALABAD, June 20: Police on Wednesday registered separate cases against the both parties involved in a clash over holding of a church ceremony at Bismillah Pur village in which 10 Christians including two women were injured.
The clash had occurred when a group of 30 people tried to disrupt arrangements being made for holding a Christian ceremony outside the local church.
The `attackers’ against whom the case has been registered by Dijkot police under sections 337-A, 337-L2, 337-F1, 337-F2, 147 and 149 of the PPC, included Irshad, Kaka, Waqas, Abdul Jabbar, Hammad, Naeem, Abdul Ghafar, Tahir, Ikram, Rehman, Waseem, Nadeem, Faizur Rehman, Abdul Majeed, Jagoo, Mana and 25 unidentified people..
Iqbal Town SP Ziaullah Niazi said that case had been registered according to the application filed by Faryad Sarosh.
He said preliminary investigations revealed that the `brawl’ had nothing to with religious persecution. He said, however, if any thing was found during investigation, the relevant section of law would be included in the case.
Meanwhile, the police have also registered a case against four Christian youths — Ijaz, Shehbaz, Irfan and Arif — under sections 324, 337-F5 and 337-A2/34.
They have been accused of injuring a boy, Hammad.
Sources said local police were directed by the high-ups to desist from any arrest that could lead to further tension.
The area is still in the grip of tension and the Christian families who had left their houses fearing violence have yet not returned.
Faryad Saroosh, the complainant, was not satisfied with the police investigations. He said while registering the case, the police had totally ignored the facts as no body had been booked for trespass or attack.
The All Pakistan Minorities Alliance zone coordinator and member of the Punjab Assembly, Pervaiz Rafiq, said police played a tricky game and did not include the required sections of law. He said he would raise the issue in the assembly.
A minority member of the district assembly, Alfonas Sahotra, said they would move the court against the police as it did not mention required sections in the case.