PESHAWAR: Angry mob on Sunday set on fire a police station in Charsadda district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after officials concerned refused to hand over a man arrested for allegedly desecrating the Holy Quran.
KP Law Minister Fazal Shakoor Khan has confirmed the incident, according to private newspaper. The city police had arrested a man for allegedly desecrating the Quran and shifted him to the Mandani police station in Charsadda’s Tangi tehsil.
Later, a mob gathered outside the police station and demanded that officials hand over the man to them. When police denied their demand, the mob grew agitated and attacked the police station and set it on fire.
They also vandalised the vehicles parked in the police station, the minister told Dawn.com. However, he said, the police managed to shift the suspect to a safe location. He added that the situation was still tense in the area and the mob had now staged a sit-in at Harichand Road.
“The government will not allow anyone to take the law into their own hands,” he said, adding, “The suspect who has been arrested will be proceeded against in accordance with the law.”
Given the current law and order situation, police have yet to release more details about the man in custody and the complaint against him. According to witnesses, local religious leaders also reached the site of the sit-in, calling for calm.
Earlier, Charsadda police spokesperson Shafiullah Jan confirmed that a mob had attacked the police station and that the situation was tense in the area. He added that police were trying to control the situation.
Eyewitnesses said the police had used tear-gas shelling and aerial firing to disperse the mob. Another police official said that the police station had been completely destroyed, adding that a number of vehicles and police records had also been lost to the fire.
