Police save Christian couple from lynching mob

LAHORE (Web Desk) - Police saved a Christian couple from a mob who were attempting to lynch them for allegedly committing blasphemy, and later arrested a cleric for inciting the violence, a senior officer said.

The incident, which took place in the village of Makki in Punjab represents a rare successful intervention by authorities, reported Dawn.

Sohail Zafar Chattha, the district police chief, said the illiterate Christian couple had obtained an old panaflex advertisement awning which contained the names and slogans of various colleges, which they were using as a mat to sleep on in their home.

Arabic inscriptions, allegedly from the Holy Quran, were found among the colleges' slogans, leading one local barber as well as two clerics to accuse the couple of committing blasphemy.

“Muslims of the town gathered there and dragged the poor couple who didn't know what they had done. They were being beaten to death,” Chattha said.

“Police intervened in time and rescued the couple from the mob, who were later shifted to Lahore and were handed over to the elders of Christian community,” said the senior police officer.

Police have arrested one of the clerics while the other and the barber remain at large, he said. Some residents interviewed by the police said the barber may have been interested in obtaining the couple's house.