Joseph Colony rampage: 13 suspects sent to jail on judicial remand

Due to lack of evidence, court also issues order for the release of one of the suspects.

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court on Friday sent 13 suspects of the Joseph Colony rampage to jail on judicial remand, Express News reported.

The decision was taken during today’s hearing by Justice Irfan Saeed.

More than 150 houses of Christians living in the Joseph Colony were torched by an angry mob on March 9 over alleged blasphemous remarks against Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) by Sawan Masih, a 28-year-old Christian sanitation worker.

Due to lack of evidence, the court also issued an order for the release of one of the suspects.

Earlier, Punjab government’s spokesman Senator Pervaiz Rashid had said that 150 people suspected of the riots and arson were arrested, while at least 54 of these could be prosecuted for offences under the Anti-Terrorism Act.