Joseph Colony case: ATC sends 21 suspects to jail

Fourteen other suspects sent on a judicial remand.

LAHORE: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore sent 21 suspects to jail who were involved in the mob attack on a Christian colony, Express News reported on Monday.

Fourteen other suspects were sent on a judicial remand.

Earlier, the police had arrested as many as 151 suspects from their homes and from Joseph Colony after the mob attack on Saturday. Some of the arrested suspects were presented in the ATC today.

During the hearing, the family members of the suspects protested outside the court, claiming that their relatives were not involved in the incident and they were called by the police to the site.

Strict security was maintained in and around the court during the hearing.

Sources said that the police had arrested the suspects after assessing the media and CCTV footages from the mob attack.

On March 9, a mob of over 3,000 people set ablaze more than 150 houses of Christians in the Joseph Colony over alleged blasphemous remarks against Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) by Sawan Masih, a 28-year-old Christian sanitation worker.