Police declare Zain Shah killing a mob lynching case

RAWALPINDI: Police have classified the killing of Zain Shah in the Pir Mehr Ali Shah Town area within Dhamial police limits as a mob lynching case and added Section 11-WW of the Anti-Terrorism Act to the FIR, according to police.

Police said six suspects have been arrested after the inclusion of the new legal provisions. They identified the arrested men as Amjad Khan, Shah Hussain, Abdul Basit, Hamza Khan, Noman Khan and Sohail Mahmood.

The suspects were produced before an anti-terrorism court, which granted police 10 days' physical remand. Investigators said the remand period would be used to question the accused about other alleged accomplices, the planning of the incident, and the motorcycle allegedly used in Zain Shah's kidnapping.

According to police, the double murder took place on May 8 in Pir Mehr Ali Shah Town. Initial investigation found that a dispute over a transaction involving Rs1,300 led Siraj Mehsud to go to Zain Shah's house with associates, where an argument escalated into an exchange of gunfire in which Mehsud was killed. Police said Mehsud's relatives then gathered a group, attacked Zain Shah, tortured him and killed him.