RAWALPINDI: After battling for his life for eight days in a hospital, a Christian man who had been severely injured in a mob attack in Sargodha following accusations of blasphemy passed away late on Sunday night.
Before he and several Christians were saved by police on May 25 from an angry mob in Sargodha’s Mujahid Colony over accusations of desecration of the Holy Quran, Nazir Masih, 70, had suffered head injuries.
The man and two Christian families were allegedly saved by the police from an angry mob that intended to lynch them and break into the homes of other local minority residents.
The individual was saved, according to a senior official, and taken to a hospital in Rawalpindi, where he had two surgeries. Still, he passed away late on Sunday night.
Later, his family moved the body to Mujahid Colony, where Monday’s funeral prayers were held in his honor. Not only was there a substantial police presence during the funeral, but his residence was also under police guard.
Dawn was informed by Irfan, a relative of Nazir, that the funeral prayers were held in the same street as the attack on his uncle. He stated that police had been called in to ensure the safety of the deceased’s family, who was in attendance at their Mujahid Colony home.
Later, the body was transferred to the Gillwala cemetery to be buried.
Following his death in Rawalpindi, the body was first brought to the Sargodha district hospital for a post-mortem test, according to DPO Assad Malhi. He claimed that in order to prevent any unfortunate incidents, security was provided during the funeral prayers.
The officer revealed that after Nazir’s passing, murder charges were added to the list of offenses drawn in the case, along with terrorism.
Following the incident, which was sparked by a report that some residents had seen Holy Quran pages burned outside of Nazir Masih’s home, police had apprehended numerous culprits and arrested hundreds of people.
