Lahore, March 7 A 21-year-old Christian worker was allegedly tortured to death by his employers in the Punjab province of Pakistan, police said on Saturday.
The incident took place in the Sargodha district of Punjab, about 200 km from Lahore, on March 4.
The body of Markus Masih was found hanging in the cattle shed where he worked. His employers called the police and informed that he committed suicide due to "domestic reasons".
The cattle farm is owned by Muslim brothers, Muhammad Mohsin and Muhammad Basharat.
As the police were initially reluctant to charge 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.
Following assurances from the police that an FIR would be registered against the suspects, the Christians ended the protest.
"A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against both brothers on the complaint of the deceased's brother, Dilshad Masih, under Section 302 (murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code," a police official said, adding that both brothers have joined the investigation and will be arrested based on the forensic report.
Both brothers have insisted that Markus Masih took his own life.
Dilshad Masih told police that the family found marks of torture 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, adding that the autopsy also pointed to torture.
A Christian rights activist, Aslam Sahotra, said this case reflects the broader vulnerabilities faced by religious minorities in Pakistan, where impoverished Christians often work in low-paid, informal sectors under influential landowners.
