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| India-Pakistan |
| Villager stoned to death on Imam's call |
| 2002-07-06 |
| A man of Chak Jhumra was stoned to death on Friday by villagers on the call of a local Pesh Imam who had issued a decree (Fatwa) against the man accusing him of blasphemy. Zahid Shah, 40, had been booked under the Blasphemy Act by Chak Jhumra police in Sept 1994 on the complaint of Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, Imam of the village mosque, for desecrating the Holy Quran and using objectionable words against the holy Prophet. The accused was arrested and jailed. But in 1997, he was granted bail by a local court. After three years in jug? After his release he left the village and settled with his brother, Mohammad Naeem, in Faisalabad while the case registered in 1994 against him was still pending with the court. A few days ago, Zahid Shah returned to his village. He allegedly had an altercation with some of the locals on Thursday. When the matter was brought to the notice of Faqir Mohammad, he convened a "Panchayat" the same day. After prayers, Maulvi Faqir Mohammad made announcement through the mosque loudspeaker and urged people to come out of their houses and kill Zahid. Scores of the villagers gathered outside Zahid's house, dragged him out in the presence of his brother and wife Perveen, and beat him with iron rods and sticks. When he fell unconscious, the mob dragged him to the main intersection of the village. In the meantime, people belonging to nearby villages had also reached there. "Hey, y'all! They're stonin' somebody over in Chak Jhumra! Grab a rock!" When he regained senses, Mauvli Faqir Mohammad asked the enraged mob to stone him. Zahid Shah sustained serious injuries during the stoning and died on the spot. Chak Jhumra police, who reached the spot four hours after the incident, neither arrested any of the persons who had stoned Zahid nor sent the body to hospital for autopsy. A Chak Jhumra Police Station official said it was an "accidental incident" and did not fall in the purview of cognizable offence. He said when Zahid's family members refused to lodge any complaint, the question of registering the case did not arise. This is the kind of |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |