Pakistan man murders WhatsApp group admin after being removed from group chat: Report

A Pakistani man has been charged for allegedly murdering the administrator of a WhatsApp group he was a part of, for removing him from the group chat, police told news agency AFP on Saturday.

The man, identified as Ashfaq, shot Mushtaq Ahmed on Thursday evening in Peshawar, the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, which borders Afghanistan.

Mushtaq Ahmed allegedly kicked the accused out of a WhatsApp group chat after an argument. In his statement to the police he confirmed that Ashfaq had been angered by the decision to remove him from the group chat.

Afterwards the two decided to bury the hatchet and meet up, however, Mushtaq's brother alleges that Ashfaq showed up to the meeting with a gun and killed Mushtaq.

"It was a non-issue or a very trivial matter. No one in our family even knew about the dispute at all," the victim's brother claimed, as quoted by Arab News.

The accused fled the scene after the murder and police are currently attempting to apprehend him.

The case has brought up questions regarding the easy availability of weapons in the politically turbulent region and the use of weapons to solve minor online disputes.

Such violent crimes surrounding online disputes, especially surrounding WhatsApp have also occurred in India.

Two months ago in the Thane district of Maharashtra, three men were arrested for allegedly assaulting their friend after he refused to comply with a demand to post an offensive status on WhatsApp.

The main accused, who was the admin of the group, had ordered the victim to change his status so it would be common among all members but was infuriated when the victim didn't comply.

The disagreement escalated and the three accused stabbed the victim with a knife, leaving him critically injured.