A mob in Pakistan has beaten a man to death and burned his body over allegations of blasphemy -- an explosive issue in the Muslim-majority country where even unproven allegations can stir up violence and large protests.
The latest incident took place in the city of Sialkot in Punjab Province, where workers at a garments company tortured and killed a Sri Lankan employee identified as Priyanthka Kumara, police officer Umar Saeed Malik told journalists on December 3.
Local resident Abdullah Naeem told RFE/RL over the phone that “the factory workers alleged that pages of Koran were found in his office dustbin, after which he was beaten to death and his body was set on fire.”
Umar Ijaz, a journalist with Geo TV, told RFE/RL that the crowd also damaged the Rajko Factory, where Malik said the victim was working as an export manager.
Videos circulating on social media showed men gathered at the site beating a body with sticks.
Sialkot police spokesman Khurram Shahzad Malik told RFE/RL that the situation in the area was under control after a police contingent was sent there.
A case was registered into the incident and and investigation launched to identify those involved, he said.
The religious faith of the deceased, if any, was not immediately known.
Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan, where unproven allegations can lead to those accused being gunned down, burned alive, or bludgeoned to death.
The incident in Punjab Province occurred less than a week after hundreds of angry protesters ransacked and burned a police station and several checkpoints in northwestern Pakistan, demanding that officers hand over a man who had allegedly burned a Koran.
Critics say Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are unevenly applied and frequently abused to settle personal disputes.
