Christian worker tortured to death in Pakistan

Lahore, Mar 7 (PTI) A 21-year-old Christian worker was tortured to death allegedly by his employers in Punjab province of Pakistan, police said on Saturday.
    The incident took place in Sargodha district of Punjab, some 200kms from Lahore, on March 4.
    The body of Markus Masih was spotted hanging in the cattle shed where he worked. His employers called the police and informed that he committed suicide for "domestic reasons".
    The cattle farm is owned by Muslim brothers, Muhammad Mohsin and Muhammad Basharat.
    As police were initially reluctant to book both brothers in the murder case, the family and relatives of Markus blocked a main road in Sargodha demanding action against the alleged murder of Markus.
    On assurance of the police high-ups that an FIR would be registered against the suspects, the Christians ended the protest.
    "First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against both brothers on the complaint of deceased's brother Dilshad Masih under Section 302 (murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code," a police official said and added both brothers have joined the investigation and they would be arrested in light of forensic report.
    Both brothers have been insisting that Markus Masih took his own life.
    Dilshad Masih told police that the family found torture marks on the body of Markus.
    "We strongly suspect that the employers had tortured Markus to death and staged the hanging to conceal their crime," he alleged and added the autopsy also pointed out torture.
A Christian rights activist, Aslam Sahotra said this case reflects broader vulnerabilities faced by religious minorities in Pakistan where impoverished Christians often work in low-paid, informal sectors under influential landowners.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)