Mob Kills Pakistani Couple Accused of Blasphemy

Husband, wife beaten, burned on allegations they descecrated Koran
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 4, 2014 4:07 PM CST
Mob Kills Pakistani Couple Accused of Blasphemy
Pakistani Christian family members pray after lighting candles at the graves of a relative on All Souls’ Day at a cemetery in Karachi on Nov. 2.   (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

A married Christian couple were killed by a mob in Pakistan after being accused of desecrating the Koran, reports AFP. The brutal assault took place at the brick kiln where they worked in the town of Kot Radha Kishan, near Lahore. Police say the pair were beaten and then burned alive in the kiln. The BBC reports that police tried to intervene to save the pair, identified only by their first names of Shama and Shehzad, but were overpowered by dozens of assailants.

The details of the alleged desecration aren't clear. NBC News reports that the wife's father died and left behind verses of the Koran that were burned along with other items belonging to him. Neighbors viewed it as blasphemy, and a vigilante mob sprung up to exact revenge. Police and government investigators promise an investigation and arrests. (More Pakistan stories.)

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