The mob of Tehrik-e-labaik Ya Rasool Allah (the followers of Mumtaz Qadri) on19 February) set tyres alight and blocked part of the Grand Trunk Road, a main astrey in Lahore that connects the city with other major parts of the country, demanding Patras Masih be publicly hanged for posting content alleged to have disrespected the prophet Muhammad. The Muslim women equally participated in the protests and a mob of men and women entered the houses of the Christians and started to throw cans of petrol in order to burn the colony of about 800 houses. Due to this Mob attack a formal First Information Report was registered on 19th February 2018, which states that,
First Information Report:
“A friend of the complainant named Muhammad Siddique s/o Muhammad Farooq showed the complainant that there’s a social Media Group named Paglon ki Basti(Colony of insane) in which Patras Masih s/o Inderias Masih is also registered as a member. That on 16th of January 2018 at about 10:00pm the accused Patras Masih have posted a derogatory picture against the Holy Prophet on the page. When I asked Patras to remove the picture he refused to do so. After his refusal the residents of the area are in rage, and since this picture is present on the social media page of Patras Masih it can result in the infringement of the sacred religious feelings and emotions of the people and can be resulted in any undesirable incidence. Therefore in order to prevent this undesirable situation and consequence an FIR may registered against Patras Masih and the situation may kindly be prevented from becoming worse.”
The Police as usual couldn’t control the mob therefore they had to call the Army Rangers who took control of the area and dispersed the mob saying that an FIR has already been registered against the accused and he will be in the police custody soon.
FACT FINDING OF THE VOICE TEAM:
The Voice team was contacted by some relatives and friends of the victim family of Inderias Masih and they requested for help on 20th February 2018. The Voice team comprised of Aneeqa Maria, Shahid Anthony, Asif Yaqoob, Napolean Qayyum, Imran zafar and Alyam went to see the family.Although the family was in hiding but they agreed to meet us.
Imderias Masih: the father of the accused Patras Masih told The Voice that his son’s mobile phone is in repairing shop from last three months and he do not know about the derogatory images. But he know only one thing that his son did not had the mobile and regarding the derogatory images he added, my son is uneducated and he cannot even write his name how can he create images to insult somebody’s faith and religion. He said, my son is a cleaner in HBL Bank, and he has very few friends. He never told us about any images or any pictures.
Siama Inderias: the Mother of Patras said, My son is innocent and we need help. The radicals of Tehrik Labiyk ya rasool Allah enetered my house and they were inclined to kill me but fortunately me and my nieces were home alone, we locked ourselves in washroom, while the mulsim women and men entered our house to burn it down. We did not opened the door. When the Ranger came, we came out of the wash room and we jumped from our second floor of the roof of the neighbours, and my nieces asked the rangers for help and told them that they are guests at someone’s house and have no information of what had happened. They allowed us to go, said Patras’s mother.
She further said that they have no place to go, nothing to eat and she requested the Voice to help them.
The Voice arranged a safe place for them to live. The family of Patras Masih is comprised of parents, two sons, two daughters a son-in-law and a grandchild. The Voice provided them all with place to live and all expenses that were needed by them to settle down a bit. The family told the Voice team that Patras previously after hearing about the Mob went in hiding because the Maulvis in the mob were carrying Patras’s pictures and were asking about him, but later the next day he surrendered himself to the police without adopting a legal procedure because his father Inderias was in Police’s custody and the police was ready to abduct his sisters and mother as well.
On 22nd of February Patras was sent to Federal Investigating Agency (FIA) in order to be investigated because the offence was committed on Social media and it comes under the ambit of cyber crime which is directly dealt by the FIA.
Threats to Patras’s Family:
ON 23RD February when Patras was in FIA’s custody, his parents were called by the respective Investigating Officer Khalid Saeed, another Cousin of Patras named Sajid Masih was also called by the FIA police for investigation at FIA headquarters Lahore. Khalid Saeed with his malafide intentions also called the complainant of the case Hafiz Muhammad Awais. Khalid also told the complainant that Patras is going for further remand in the court of the Magistrate. The Complainant was also informed by the Police that they are going to take his remand. The complainat Hafiz Awais along with his companions reached the court and tortured Patras in Police’s custody, wjile Police didn’t tried to stop them. Later when they came back to the FIA’s office Patras told his parents that he’s been beaten by Hafiz Awais and his friends in the court. Later the complaiant Hafiz Awais met Patras’s family and threatened them in the court premises that he will not let the Blapshmer alive nor anyone from his family.
Inderias and his wife told Adv. Aneeqa about the threats and she called immediately to the relative I.O named Khaid Saeed. He flatly refused to give the family any security instead he also threaten the family that FIA will arrest all men in the family and punish them all so that the Christians learn from their deaths not to speak, hear or see anything about the Faith of the Muslims.
Later at about 3:00pm he took Sajid and Patras for investigation along with his investigation team to the fouth floor of the building and said that he is taking them for the forensics of their cell phones in the lab. After two hours Inderias Masih father of Patras Masih called Shahid Anthony (The Voice) and told that Sajid has jumped out of the window from the 4th floor. The Voice team instructed him to get out of the building right away and to reach immediately to their safe place, meanwhile the Voice team i.e. Adv. Aneeqa, Shahid Anthony and Napolean went for FIA to check the occurrence themselves. Upon reaching there, the FIA police refused to acknowledge the presence of Investigation and the presence of Sajid Masih, moreover they said that there is no such incidence of attempting of suicide. About 15 minutes later while the Voice team was still at the gate of FIA’s head quarters, we received a call from a friend from Ganga Ram hospital and the source said that the Police have brought a young boy named Sajid in critical condition and they say that he have tried to commit suicide.
SAJJID MASIH’S PLIGHT:
The Voice team rushed towards the hospital and found Sajid Masih in a very critical condition. There were the officials of FIA from Anti-Human Trafficking and Immigration but no one from Cybercrime investigation team. Adv. Aneeqa asked the officers what happened but they said, that Sajid Maish Jumped out of the window of the 4th Floor of the building in order to escape the Police’s custody. The Voice team asked them whether if Sajid is a record holding criminal, that he knows how to escape from Police’s custody but FIA Officials kept quiet. Doctors told that Sajid’s condition is very critical and he have multiple major injuries external and internal.
The Voice team arranged blood for him, the doctors at ganga ram hospital gave him first aid and sent him to general hospital saying that they cannot entertain him. Because they have lack of facilities. At General Hospital Doctors previously refused to admit Sajjid because they were not sure about his extremely critical condition but than Adv. Aneeqa had an argument with the doctors and finally they agreed to entertain him. The Voice team also contacted Sajjid’s family. As they were in hiding in different cities, it took them about 5 hours to come to the Genera Hospital Lahore. Mean while The Voice team fulfilled all the requirements in the hospital for Sajjid. At about 2:00am in the night doctors were able to stabilize the situation of Sajjid and stopped his blood by stitching most of his wounds and giving him loads of medicines. Still they told Adv. Aneeqa that he’s not out of danger and he will remain the same for 48 hours. Meanwhile the family of Sajjid also reached and they couldn’t accept the situation of Sajjid Masih, but what had happened in the FIA headquarters was a mystery. At about 3:00am in the morning Sajjid opened his eyes and saw his family and his lawyer (Aneeqa Maria) he wanted to say something but couldn’t. at about 4:00am in the morning he was shifted to Mayo Hospital for his Jaw and other bone’s treatments.
Adv. Aneeqa went in the ward again at about 9:00am along with the Voice team where Sajjid was lying, he was trying to say something but couldn’t. Adv. Aneeqa asked him whether if he wants to say something, and he said yes, please record my statement. Adv. Aneeqa recorded his statement which was very shocking, and shared it with a friend in Pakistan Today. (I have attached the statement along with the report).
Present Situation of the case:
From the day of the registration of the FIR to until now, the Voice society is helping and assisting the family of Patras and Sajjid morally, physically, legally and financially. We do not have much funds to undergo his treatment privately, but we are doing what we can to help him and his family.
Legal Status of the Case: The Voice is providing all sorts of legal support to the families and both of the Victims. The Voice have filed a Harrassment petition on the behalf of Patras’s family so that Police or FIA may not harass them illegally and stop immediately all the arrests against the accused’s/victim’s family. Secondly the Voice have filed an application against Khalid Saeed FIA’s I.O and requested for the registration of case against him for torturing and attempt to sexually abuse of Sajjid and Patras. The higher officials are not helping the Voice society and are not sharing any information about the investigation and about Patras masih.
The Voice took up the case and provided them all sorts of help they needed. The Voice will provide them free legal aid and assistance. Please keep The Voice in your prayers because this time there is Tehrik-e Labaiyk ya rasool Allah (TLYRA) is against us. It is pertinent to mention here that this Tehrik is the third strongest emerging political group in Pakistan and they are the followers of Mumtaz Qadri (the assassin of Salman Taseer Governor of Punjab.) As a result of this blasphemy Riots aroused in Faisalabad few days ago when some Muslims rubbed down the Biblical verses on Church’s wall and TLYRA wrote their Islamic slogans on the Church’s walls. When the church admin tried to stop them they started quarrel and as a result another FIR of blasphemy got registered against Christians in Faisalabad.
The Situation of Christians in Pakistan especially Punjab is very tensed and is out of control. Our Government is totally failed in providing security to Minorities.
Reported,
The Voice Society Team
