A Christian couple in Pakistan was attacked and beaten to death by an enraged Muslim mob for allegedly degrading and desecrating the Holy Qur'an, police said, adding that the victims' bodies were later burned in the brick kiln where they used to work.
Deemed as the latest example of mob violence against minorities accused of blasphemy, the incident took place in the town of Kot Radha Kishan, 40 miles south-west of the city of Lahore, Pakistan, according to Agence France-Presse.
"A mob attacked a Christian couple after accusing them of desecration of the holy Qur'an and later burnt their bodies at a brick kiln where they worked," local police station official Bin-Yameen told AFP.
"Yesterday an incident of desecration of the holy Qur'an took place in the area and today the mob first beat the couple and later set their bodies on fire at a brick kiln," he added.
The married couple was only identified by their first names, Shama and Shehzad.
"Pakistan's brick kiln workers are often subject to harsh practices, with a study by the Bonded Labour Liberation Front Pakistan estimating that 4.5 million are indentured laborers," according to The Guardian.
Following the horrific crime, police security has been heightened at Christian neighborhoods in the province, with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif constituting a three-member committee to fast track the investigation of the killings, an official from his media office told AFP.
Since blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in the majority Muslim country, even unproven allegations often evoke the risk of a violent and bloody death at the hands of vigilantes.
After a Christian woman made derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed during an argument with a Muslim woman, she has been on death row since November 2010.
Meanwhile, global rights watchdog Amnesty International urged Pakistan authorities to bring to justice those responsible for the killing.
"This vicious mob killing is just the latest manifestation of the threat of vigilante violence which anyone can face in Pakistan after a blasphemy accusation - although religious minorities are disproportionately vulnerable," said David Griffiths, Amnesty International's Deputy Asia Pacific director.
"Those responsible must be brought to justice and the Pakistani authorities have to ensure at-risk communities are proactively given the protection they need."
