A Pakistani mob beat to near-death a Christian and his pregnant wife for her alleged ‘blasphemy’, then threw them both into the large kiln where they both worked as bonded labourers.

The incident happened on Tuesday 3^rd November, some 60 kilometers from Lahore, the capital of Punjab in central Pakistan – in Chak 59 village, Kot Radha Kishan.

The couple originally belonged to the historic Christian village Clarkabad, only 4 kilometers from Chak 59. Several incidents of communal violence have taken place between Christians of Clarkabad and Muslims of surrounding villages in the recent past.

Two days before their murder, Shahzad Masih (26) and his five months-pregnant wife Shama Bibi (24) were accused of burning the pages of a Qur’an. (The couple already had four children – now orphans).

By Monday night, some Muslim neighbors had informed the police of the alleged desecration and warned of a possible attack on the Christian couple, Parveen (Shahzad’s sister-in-law) said. “That night I had Shahzad and Shama sleep in my home so that if the police arrested them, at least we would know.”

At about 6 a.m. when Shahzad and Shama went back to their own home in order to prepare for work, an angry mob began pouring into their quarters. Sensing the danger all the Christians fled except Shama’s sister Yasmeen (married to Shahzad’s brother Fiaz Masih).

On Tuesday, as word spread, the couple were locked up in a room adjacent to the brick kiln by their employer, Yousaf Gujjar.

Following incendiary comments from local clerics, the crowd forcibly removed them from the room and dragged them out into the open.

“They beat them with wooden clubs on their heads, and hatchets, before they were both tied to a tractor and pulled out onto a road which was under construction, covered with crushed stones.”

“They took some petrol from a tractor and doused their bodies and threw them in the kiln.”

“By the time police arrived, the couple was already dead,” Jawad Qamar, the local police chief, told local news media outlets. “Their bodies were totally burned.”

The New York Times reports that a criminal case has been filed against at least 460 people, and 48 people had been arrested. The police were conducting raids to detain more suspects.

The investigation continues under the guidance of Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, says the New York Times.