On 25 February a Muslim landowner chained and tortured a young Christian man, who later died from his injuries, after accusing him of ‘polluting’ his tube-well water by rinsing in it.
Saleem Masih, 22, had finished unloading chaff in fields in Baguyana village, Karsur District, some 50 kilometres (31 miles) from Lahore, and was rinsing himself off in the tube-well when property owner Sher Dogar and other men rushed over, yanked him out of the water and began beating him.
‘They cursed and abused Saleem for ‘polluting’ the water, calling him a ‘filthy Christian,’ the elder said. ‘They then dragged him to their cattle farm, where they chained his hands and feet and continued to torture him with sticks and rods. They also rolled a thick iron rod over his entire body, causing multiple fractures in his left arm and ribs. Saleem couldn’t bear the pain and fell unconscious.’
