Pakistan: Another Christian man arrested over alleged blasphemy in Punjab

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Investigation officer Inspector Hasan Baig told The Express Tribune that the suspect was not a mentally stable man and might have committed the sacrilegious act unintentionally.

Times of Ahmad | News Watch | UK Desk
Source/Credit: The Express Tribune
By Rana Tanveer | September 23rd, 2016

LAHORE: Just two days after a teenager was accused of blasphemy in Kasur, another man was arrested by police on Thursday on allegations of sacrilege. Police say the suspect is a person with disabilities.

Kangar Pur police arrested A*, 35, after he was accused of blasphemy by the administration of a local mosque.

The administration of Markazi Mosque of the Ahle Hadith sect had accused the suspect of desecrating some pages of Holy Quran, police said.

According to the complainant Yasif Ali, he personally saw the man desecrating pages of the Holy Quran that had hurt his and other Muslims religious feelings of other Muslims.

Investigation officer Inspector Hasan Baig told The Express Tribune that the suspect was not a mentally stable man and might have committed the sacrilegious act unintentionally.

On a question why the FIR was registered if the man was a person with disabilities, the police officer said he was unaware how the case was registered as he was from the investigation wing and was only given the FIR after it had been registered.

The complainant told The Express Tribune that if the police had not arrested the suspect, angry people might have lynched him. He claimed the man was not insane as he could differentiate between currency notes.

Three days ago, a Christian teenager named N* was also arrested by Phoolnagar police and jailed after being accused of blasphemy under relevant sections of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Complainant Akhtar Ali had stated that he saw a sacrilegious post on Nabil’s Facebook timeline on the mobile phone of his friend. He said he also showed the post to his friends Bakht Khan and Saddam, whose religious sentiments were hurt by the picture. Akhtar then handed over the mobile phone to the police.

Case investigation officer Shehbaz Ahmed told The Express Tribune that the suspect was taken into custody on the same day the application was received, as there were chances of a violent reaction.

He added the Christian community had been given complete protection and should come back to their houses without any fear.

Nabil’s father told The Express Tribune that the family was on the run after his son’s arrest as the police had forced them to leave their houses for their safety.

Two more families are on the run and are living with their relatives for the time being. The man claimed his son was illiterate and worked as a labourer.

*Names withheld to protect privacy

Published in The Express Tribune, September 23rd, 2016.


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