QUETTA (National Times) A police constable shot a person accused of blasphemy while in custody at the Cantonment Police Station in Quetta, The News reported Friday.

Abdul Ali was taken into custody and a case was registered against him at the Kharotabad Police Station on Wednesday after a video went viral on social media.

Following the alleged video’s circulation, a large crowd gathered outside the police station, demanding that the suspect be handed over to them.

A senior officer from Quetta Police said that the Kharotabad Police Station was unsafe due to the large number of protesters, so the suspect was transferred to the Cantonment Police Station.

However, Ali — who was facing charges under Section 295-C, was gunned down by a police officer named Syed Khan Sarhadi while he was in police custody.

According to the police, it was at the Cantonment Station that a policeman shot and killed the suspect. A senior official from the Kharotabad Police Station said that the cop who killed the suspect has been arrested and an investigation is going on.

The police also mentioned that instead of transferring Abdul Ali’s body to the Civil Hospital, the relevant police surgeon has been called to a secure location for the post-mortem.