Caught red-handed: ‘Transformer thief’ beaten to death

Incident took place near Basti Mazharabad in Khairpur Tamewali, say police.

BAHAWALPUR:

A man died on Friday after he was beaten by a mob after allegedly being caught stealing an electricity transformer from near Basti Mazharabad in Khairpur Tamewali, police said.

They said residents of the area beat Muhammad Arshad when he was caught stealing a transformer. They also traced and beat Talish a man he identified as his accomplice, police said.

They said the two were taken to Khairpur Tamewali’s tehsil headquarters hospital (THQ) where Arshad succumbed to his injuries.

Talish was later referred to Bahawalpur’s Victoria Hospital.

They said Arshad’s family later surrounded the THQ hospital to protest his violent death. They placed his body on Hasilpur-Bahawalpur Road and blocked it for traffic.

Police said the family claimed that Arshad had been beaten at the behest of landlord Mazhar Husain Pirzada.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2014.