According to Bajaur District Police Officer (DPO) Abdul Samad Khan, the murder suspect, Abdul Rashid was accused of allegedly kidnapping a young man by the name of Abdul Ghafoor, who had gone missing from the Bara Kamangara area of Naugai Tehsil of the district of Bajaur.
The family of Abdul Ghafoor had approached the police station and claimed that Abdul Rashid had been behind the kidnapping. Subsequently, Abdul Rashid was taken into police custody and was held at the Nawagai police station.
However, shortly after, Abdul Ghafoor's dead body was found by his family, who were enraged and stormed into the police station.
The mob consisting of Abdul Ghafoor's family members broke down the police station gate, and set the station on fire. Then they stoned the murder suspect Abdul Rashid to death.
According to DPO Abdul Samad Khan, a heavy contingent of police has been stationed in the area after the incident, and police are also trying to resolve the matter with the tribal leaders.
Mob violence is not a new phenomenon in Pakistan. Each year, there are many stories of mob lynching taking place all over the country.
The pattern is the same, criminals under trial are killed by angry relatives, people are killed by mobs on mere suspicion and speculation, videos are made, shared and condemned.
Yet law enforcement agencies take no efforts to save victims, or issue directives to prevent mob violence.
In December 2021, a mob in Sialkot brutally murdered a Sri Lankan man Priyantha Kumara and set his body on fire over blasphemy allegations.