Four men arrested for torturing Christian farmer in Kasur’s Chunian

Four men were arrested on Thursday, February 27, for torturing a Christian farmer to death in Kasur’s Chunian, the police said.

According to his family, on February 25, the man was coming back from work and had stopped near a field to wash himself. He was attacked by four landlords. “They beat him up with sticks, called him a filthy Christian and said that he had polluted the water by bathing in it,” Ghafoor, the man’s father, said.

The suspects then took the 22-year-old man to a cattle farm nearby, tied him up with a chain and continued beating him with an iron rod, his father told the police.

According to Ghafoor, when he reached the farm, he found his son “lying unconscious on the ground”. His face and body were covered in blood, he said.

The man was rushed to General Hospital, Kasur where he passed away two days later from his injuries.

“We had received a call from the suspects that day,” Kasur SHO Mohammad Ramzan told SAMAA Digital. “They claimed that they had beaten up the man for stealing turmeric from their fields.” But we found nothing on the man when we reached the crime scene, SHO Ramzan said.

An FIR under Sections 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 337A (intentionally hurting a person), 147 (punishment for rioting) and 342 (punishment for death) has been registered at the Allahabad police station. Two suspects have been bailed out, according to the SHO.

An inquiry committee has been formed to investigate the case. “A post-mortem examination has been conducted and reports are expected to come out in two to three days,” SHO Ramzan added.

Human Rights and Minorities Affairs Minister Ejaz Aslam has taken notice of the incident and ordered the police to take action against the perpetrators.