Pakistan PM vows action against mob that stoned man to death for allegedly burning Koran
- An angry group stoned a man and hung his body from a tree after a mosque custodian claimed he witnessed the man burning the Muslim holy book
- A local police chief said the victim was a middle-aged villager who had been mentally unwell for years and ‘often went missing from home’
The custodian of a local mosque said he saw the man burning the Muslim holy book inside the mosque on Saturday evening, and told others before informing police, according to police spokesman Chaudhry Imran.
The violence took place in a village in the district of Khanewal in Punjab province.
Imran said police rushed to the scene, where a man was found surrounded by an angry crowd. Officer Mohammad Iqbal and two subordinates tried to take custody of the man but the group began throwing stones at them, seriously injuring Mohammad Iqbal and slightly injuring the other two officers.
Munawar Gujjar, chief of Tulamba police station, said he rushed reinforcements to the mosque but they did not arrive before the mob had stoned to death the man and hung his body from a tree.