Pakistan: Police Deny Dead Christian’s Statement
By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News)– Before he died on Wednesday, a Christian youth in Lahore, Pakistan, had told police that two Muslims on a motorbike had set him afire because of his faith.
But according to Morning Star News, police now deny ever taking that statement.
Nauman Masih, 14, had told police that after Friday prayer, two men from a local mosque approached and him asked about his religion. When the pair realized that Masih was Christian, they began to beat him; after Masih ran away, they two men — who were both riding a motorbike — easily caught up with him, doused him with kerosene and then set Masih on fire.
Attorney Aneeqa Maria Akhtar said she was present when Masih told police that the Muslims had set him on fire because he was a Christian, but a senior police official denied that they had taken any such statement and doubted any religious motives for the assault.
Yet even more questions arose after Masih unexpectedly expired as there were no indications that his injuries were life-threatening.
“On the day he got operated on, the doctors told us that Nauman had not suffered any serious internal injuries and all his organs were working in order,” said Akhtar. “He had suffered superficial burn wounds on 55 per cent of his body, which the doctors said were treatable….”
Yet despite the doctor’s optimistic diagnosis, Masih suddenly died in a hospital while being watched over by a plainclothes security detail.