A student of Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan was killed and another injured by a vigilante mob on campus Thursday for allegedly publishing blasphemous content online, according to police.
At least 15 people have been arrested in connection with the incident, and the campus has been shut down until further notice. The hostels have been vacated and a search for the culprits is ongoing.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Mardan Alam Shinwari said the student was accused of running Facebook pages which allegedly published blasphemous content.
He was assaulted by a group of students and appears to have succumbed to a gunshot wound, the DIG said.
An eyewitness at the scene of the incident said that Mashal and Abdullah, two Mass Communication students, were believed to be promoting the Ahmadi faith on Facebook.
A mob of university students surrounded Abdullah. He was forced to recite verses from the Holy Quran. Despite his repeated denials, the students beat him.
The police, when alerted, reached the site of the attack and rescued Abdullah, after which the mob set its sights on Mashal who was in the hostel at the time, the eyewitness said.
Mashal was beaten and shot by the mob, and succumbed to his injuries.
Footage of the incident shows Mashal lying on the floor surrounded by men. The student is not moving and his body bears marks of severe torture. Men can be seen kicking him. At the end of the video, he is pulled from his clothes by an unidentified man.
University administration official Fayaz Ali Shah said the mob of students accused Mashal of blasphemy and killed him.
Over 20 officers arrived at the scene but because there were so many students, the police were unable to control the situation, he said, adding that an investigation is underway.
Hostel warden Muhammad Ali claimed: "Three to four thousand students were approaching. I was alerted that they were approaching, so I closed the gates but they broke in, found Mashal and fired at him and started beating him."
Students said police had been alerted of the incident and were present on campus at the time. When asked why they didn't intervene, the police said there were too many people in the mob for them to take on.
This is a developing story
