Police on Thursday claimed to have arrested 17 more suspects in the Jaranwala incident after geofencing, sources said. On August 17, a violent mob vandalised multiple churches and torched homes belonging to the Christian community over alleged blasphemy. Sources within police said the arrests were made with the help of the videos of the nominated suspects in the Jaranwala and geofencing of the crime scene. With the latest arrest, the total number of rounded-up suspects in the Jaranwala incident has jumped to 207. Earlier, the Jaranwala police registered terror cases against more than 600 people for “vandalizing multiple churches and torching homes belonging to the Christian community”.

According to the FIR, a mob of 500-600, who were led by a group of people, “attacked the Christian community, ransacked people’s homes after entering them and torched Christians’ homes and the church building”. Meanwhile, the Punjab government also ordered the formation of a high-level inquiry committee to investigate the incident, in line with directives issued by Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq.

 Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)