Sikh turban case: Five blasphemy accused granted bail

Earlier, six men were arrested under blasphemy law for desecrating a Sikh man's turban

LAHORE: Five people accused of blasphemy after a Sikh man complained they had desecrated his turban during a scuffle over a delayed bus were granted bail on Wednesday.

Chichawatni civil judge granted bail to the accused because police added the wrong section in the FIR, Mahindar Paul Singh, a 29-year-old resident of Multan, confirmed while speaking to The Express Tribune.



"Section 295 in your case is completely wrong, this section cannot address your case because section 295 is only applicable if someone violates or disrespects a religious place and this section 295 is bail able," Singh quoted the judge as saying.

Earlier, the owner of a local bus service, Haji Riyasat, and his five employees Baqir Ali, Rashid Gujar, Faiz Alam, Shakeel and Snawal were booked under blasphemy law for desecrating Singh's turban.

According to reports, Singh was traveling from Faisalabad to Multan by a bus owned by Kohistan-Faisal Movers Company when a scuffle broke out between them. Singh said the clash came after he and other passengers complained when their bus broke down during the journey.

During the fierce brawl, an employee of the transport company threw Singh's turban on the ground.



“The staff (of the bus company) misbehaved, pushed me and threw my turban, which is very sacred, away,” he told AFP.

“They desecrated my religious symbol so I decided to lodge a blasphemy case.”

Meanwhile, Pal said he would upload a video of the incident on his Facebook page.