The initial investigative report of the brutal murder of a tourist in Madyan, a recreational spot in Swat, over alleged blasphemy has surfaced. According to the report, the accused consistently denied the blasphemy allegations.
The report states that an unknown tourist found likely burnt pieces of Quranic pages in the corridor outside the door of the victim’s room in the hotel. This tourist informed the hotel management, who then notified the police and forcibly opened the door to the accused’s room.
The report mentions that when the accused opened the door, he was confronted by people, and he denied any desecration of the Quran. Following this, the local police arrived at the hotel and took the accused to the police station.
The report highlights that this was the critical mistake that led to fatal consequences. The SHO did not contact any senior officer for guidance. In such situations, it was a priority to evacuate, but the SHO, contrary to this, transferred the accused to the police station.
According to the report, the police kept the accused in custody at the station for at least 30 to 40 minutes. Today News reported that DPO Zahid Ullah mentioned that during this custody period, an initial statement was attempted to be taken from the accused, who again insisted that he had not committed any blasphemy and rejected the allegations against him.
During this time, a crowd gathered outside the police station and attacked it. The report states that the police bravely tried to control the situation, firing in the air and confronting the mob, but due to the absence of senior officers and political leaders, the result was a failure.
The report concludes that taking the accused to the police station instead of evacuating him and the absence of senior officers or political figures to manage the crowd resulted in this tragic incident.
