Pak court indicts 20 Christians in Lahore lynching case

An Anti-Terrorism Court in Pakistan on Wednesday indicted 20 Christian men in the lynching case of two Muslims here following deadly church suicide blasts in March.

Judge Muhammad Qasim heard the lynching case in which a mob killed two men in the aftermath of the church suicide blasts on March 15 in Youhanabad area, a Christian locality with over 100,000 population in central Lahore.

After the blasts, police had taken two suspects into custody from the site and shifted them to a vehicle when a group of angry youngsters got hold of them. The enraged mob started thrashing the duo and after beating them severely, it tied them with a rope and set them on fire. Their charred remains were later found at the site.

The police subsequently arrested over 100 Christians on the lynching charges. The victims were identified as Babar Noman, a garment worker who had come to Lahore from Sargodha in search of employment at a factory, and Hafiz Naeem, a glass cutter.