Student who shot Mashal Khan arrested: DIG Mardan

Says Imran was arrested on a tip-off and has confessed to his crime

MARDAN: The Mardan police deputy inspector general (DIG) said on Thursday that the Abdul Wali Khan University (AWKU) student who shot on Mashal Khan has been arrested.

“According to witnesses, Mashal’s classmate Imran opened fire and shot him twice. He has now been arrested,” DIG Alam Khan Shinwari told a news conference in Mardan.

The official said Imran was arrested on a tip-off today and that he has confessed to his crime. “Seven people in total have confessed to their involvement in the murder while 41 suspects are under custody,” he added.

He added that Imran had already accepted the charges in front of a judicial magistrate.

He criticised the university administration for carrying out their investigation in the case for three hours and informed the police so late that Mashal was shot numerous times.

“The university never asked for police assistance, they arranged for their own security which resulted in such a heinous crime. Had they informed the police on time things might have been different,” he added.



“Police arrived at the scene 13 minutes after receiving information of the incident and managed to save two people,” Shinwari said and added that the case is being investigated with use of technology. “The case is being probed on merit and with the help of available evidence,” he added.

A Joint Investigation Team (JIT) constituted earlier, comprising members of Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and other law enforcement agencies, is coordinating with police in the matter, the DIG said and added, “six teams comprising the LEAs were formed to investigate the case and will submit their final report to the Supreme Court.”

On Tuesday, two more key suspects involved in the lynching were arrested in Mardan after they were identified through closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage.

Mashal, a 23-year-old student of journalism at AWKU, was shot dead and brutally lynched on campus on April 13 after accusations of blasphemy.

Videos of the gruesome incident show agitated students stomping on Mashal’s lifeless, blood-soaked body and hitting him with sticks. More videos that have surfaced since then show a local PTI councillor Arif Mardan congratulating the students for killing the student and urging them to pledge to not reveal the identity of the shooter.