- Mob sacked a police station and torched the vehicle of mosque’s imam.
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday ordered local police to form a medical board to assess the mental and physical health of a man arrested on blasphemy allegations in Chitral.
A bloodthirsty mob, on Friday, assaulted a man inside the Shahi Mosque in Chitral following the allegations of blasphemous remarks during Friday prayers.
The mosque’s imam, fearing for the man’s life, handed him over to the police. On which, the mob turned violent and tried to force police to hand the man over. Upon refusal, the mob ransacked a police station and also torched the vehicle of the imam.
The police booked the man on the charges of blasphemy and terrorism, and produced him before an ATC for physical remand.
The ATC judge rejected the request for physical remand of the accused and ordered police to submit a medical report. The judge also instructed the concerned authorities to form a medical board for a detailed report on the accused’s physical and mental state.
Special security arrangements were also made on the occasion and the man was shifted to jail after the hearing.
Tension continued to grow as a large crowd marched and tried to reach Chitral Town to protest against the accused.
District administration has imposed Section 144 to prevent any untoward incident from happening. Security was also put on high alert and Frontier Corp personnel were deployed to entry and exit points deemed sensitive.
Deputy Commissioner Shahab Hamid Yousafzai told a local publication police have made dozens of arrest for attacking the police station and torching the vehicle of the imam.
