ATC remands four suspects in lynching of Christian couple
Judge remands suspects into police custody for further interrogation till November 19
LAHORE:
An Anti-Terrorism court on Monday remanded in custody four people accused of killing a Christian couple for alleged blasphemy, officials said.
Shehzad Masih, a bonded labourer, and his pregnant wife Shama Bibi were beaten by a mob of 1,500 people then thrown on top of a lit furnace last week in a reaction to rumours they had thrown pages of the Holy Quran into the garbage.
The horrific incident took place on November 4 in Chak 59 near the town of Kot Radha Kishan, 60 kilometres southwest of Lahore.
It has sparked protests across the country by Christians and outrage among rights activists. Police have arrested more than 40 suspects.
"The police produced four suspects in anti-terrorism court and the judge remanded them into police custody for further interrogation till November 19," a prosecution official told AFP.
He said 39 more suspects were already in jail, out of a total of some 60 suspects named in the lynching of the Christian couple.
Some 900 students from Lahore's missionary schools staged a demonstration outside Lahore Press Club against the murders.
Protesters shouted "We want justice!" and "Stop killing minorities!"
They carried placards and banners, including one which read "Death penalty for the killers of Shehzad and Shama."
Later during the day, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq visited Kot Radha Kishan and met the family of the victims.
Haq "strongly condemned" the killings, demanded a high-level inquiry into them and urged the government to ensure severe punishment for the perpetrators, a party official told AFP.
An Anti-Terrorism court on Monday remanded in custody four people accused of killing a Christian couple for alleged blasphemy, officials said.
Shehzad Masih, a bonded labourer, and his pregnant wife Shama Bibi were beaten by a mob of 1,500 people then thrown on top of a lit furnace last week in a reaction to rumours they had thrown pages of the Holy Quran into the garbage.
The horrific incident took place on November 4 in Chak 59 near the town of Kot Radha Kishan, 60 kilometres southwest of Lahore.
It has sparked protests across the country by Christians and outrage among rights activists. Police have arrested more than 40 suspects.
"The police produced four suspects in anti-terrorism court and the judge remanded them into police custody for further interrogation till November 19," a prosecution official told AFP.
He said 39 more suspects were already in jail, out of a total of some 60 suspects named in the lynching of the Christian couple.
Some 900 students from Lahore's missionary schools staged a demonstration outside Lahore Press Club against the murders.
Protesters shouted "We want justice!" and "Stop killing minorities!"
They carried placards and banners, including one which read "Death penalty for the killers of Shehzad and Shama."
Later during the day, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq visited Kot Radha Kishan and met the family of the victims.
Haq "strongly condemned" the killings, demanded a high-level inquiry into them and urged the government to ensure severe punishment for the perpetrators, a party official told AFP.