Gujar Khan police have booked about a dozen people for digging up a grave, desecrating the grave and the corpse and shifting the body to another grave in the Changa Meera area, arresting the principle accused.
The grave was dug up in the darkness of night, the body was exhumed and reburied elsewhere.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), an elderly man named Muhammad Ashfaq, who passed away on March 3, was buried in the Changa Meera graveyard.
Complainant Kamran Sajid, a relative of the deceased, reported to police that he was at his home in Mauza Pindi when he received a call from a person named Muhammad Nazir.
Nazir informed him that during the night, unknown individuals had exhumed the body of his father-in-law's brother, Muhammad Ashfaq, from his grave and relocated it elsewhere.
Upon reaching the graveyard, the complainant confirmed the body was missing. Locals informed him that individuals named Hanif Hanfi, Akhtar, Imran, and 10 unknown accomplices had participated in the act and reburied the body approximately 100 meters away.
Prior to the incident, the suspect Hanif had reportedly announced in the mosque his intention to establish a shrine (dargah) for Muhammad Ashfaq, who was considered a saint in the area.
According to the complainant, the deceased was a humble and spiritual person and was not associated with such practices.
Police responded promptly, collected evidence, and registered a case under Section 297 of the Pakistan Penal Code (pertaining to the desecration of graves).
'Main suspect held'
Saddar SP Nabeel Khokhar confirmed that the main suspect, Hanif Hanfi, has been arrested, and efforts are ongoing to locate the other accused.
The suspect's intention was allegedly to establish a shrine at the site of the new grave. With the consent of the family and approval from the court, the body was reburied in its original grave, he added. The SP further said that raids are being conducted to arrest the remaining suspects, who will be brought to justice soon.
Meanwhile, the scope of the investigation had been expanded and during the inquiry, it was revealed that the prime suspect, Hanif Hanfi, is a former schoolteacher who prefers to be addressed as "Master."
He has a passion for poetry and has even authored a book. A resident of Changa Meera village, Hanfi has been living at a local shrine instead of his family home due to alleged domestic disputes.
Meanwhile, police are conducting raids to apprehend the remaining suspects, who have gone into hiding.
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