Umerkot doctor accused of blasphemy shot dead in ‘encounter’: police

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A doctor hailing from Umerkot accused of sharing blasphemous posts on social media was shot dead during a gun battle with the police in Mirpurkhas on Thursday, authorities said.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Asad Chaudhry told Dawn.com that the suspect, who was astride a motorcycle with another suspect, was killed by the police.

According to the first information report (FIR) of the incident, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the police tried to stop the two motorcyclists to search their vehicle. But instead of complying, the suspects, coming from Sindhri, opened fire on the police.

The FIR stated one of the suspects fled the scene while firing at the police. It added that when the police approached the injured, they were able to identify him as the doctor from Umerkot and observed that he “had a pistol in his hand”.

The suspect was shifted to Mirpurkhas Civil Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

The suspect and his accomplice were booked under Sections 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), and 324 (attempted murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

The police added that the slain suspect was in possession of a pistol without a license, for which a separate case will be registered against him.

Before being booked, certain religious parties staged a violent protest to demand strict action against the suspect. A large crowd of enraged protesters had gathered in front of the local press club on Wednesday and demanded the immediate arrest of the doctor.

They ended the protest after the Umerkot SSP assured them that a criminal case would be registered against the suspect.

Nonetheless, the protesters attacked a police mobile van and set it on fire. Police initiated action against the miscreants, took into custody over 10 suspects, and registered a case against them.

Meanwhile, police authorities suspended Station House Officer (SHO) Altaf Shah for his failure to control vandalism and damage to government and public property.

Police officials said that a blasphemy case was also registered against the slain suspect at the Taluka police station under Section 295-C (use of derogatory remarks, etc., in respect of the Holy Prophet) of the PPC.

Blasphemy cases in country

Meanwhile, the family members of a blasphemy suspect have forgiven the Quetta police official who allegedly killed him last week while he was in police custody, it emerged on Wednesday.

The family strongly condemned the slain suspect for the alleged blasphemy saying, “We never hesitate to render our lives in the honour of the Holy Prophet.

“We have pardoned the police official Saad Muhammad Sarhadi in the name of Allah and unconditionally,” the family members said, adding that they would not fight the case against the police official in a court of law.

JUI-P Senator Abdul Shakoor Khan, in a Senate meeting last week, had expressed solidarity with the police official, saying that he would bear all his legal expenses.

In May, police rescued a Christian man from enraged mobsters who wanted to lynch him, and attacked the homes of some other members of the minority community in Sargodha on allegations of desecration of the Holy Quran.

Following the incident, 26 people were arrested, and over 400 were booked for mob violence. The case was registered on behalf of the state under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997 and sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

However, the police also registered a blasphemy case against the Christian man, a resident of Mujahid Colony. He succumbed to his injuries after fighting for his life at a hospital for eight days.

In June, a mob brutally lynched a man — who had been detained for the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran — inside the Madyan police station in Swat.

The mob then set fire to the suspect’s body, the police station, and a police vehicle.

Swat District Police Officer Dr Zahidullah had said that eight people were also injured in the incident.