by JUNAID YOUSAFZAI
MARDAN: The local police, on Thursday, have arrested eight more suspects involved in the lynching of Mashal Khan, a student of Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan.
According to reports, the number of arrests, in this case, has risen to 32. Eight other suspects were also presented before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) following the expiry of their four-day remand.
On Wednesday, seven suspects reportedly confessed to the murder before the police, before they were taken to an ATC where the judges gave a go-ahead for their confessional statements to be recorded.
Earlier, on Tuesday, police arrested five suspects in the Mardan lynching case, which increased the number of detained suspects to 24.
Most of the individuals, who have been arrested in the murder case, including six employees of the university, were identified through closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras,” police said.
Mashal Khan, a student of Mass Communications, was lynched by an angry mob on April 13 which had accused him of blasphemy.
Wajahat, a suspect in the lynching of Mashal Khan confessed in a statement recorded before the magistrate on Monday and placed the blame on the administration of the university for instigating the crime.
Various political figures and civil society members have strongly condemned the murder, with the National Assembly on April 18, Tuesday, demanding the government to award exemplary punishment to culprits. The assembly had unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the brutal murder of Mashal Khan on fabricated charges of blasphemy.
A week following the brutal lynching of its student Mashal Khan by a violent mob over blasphemy allegations at campus premises, the university remains closed. Administration staff of the university, however, has continued to work.
–Inputs from TV channels
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