Man booked under blasphemy law for defiling Bible

Youth tries to enter St Joseph’s Church before tearing a copy of the holy book .

LAHORE:

In apparent retaliation of the burning of the Holy Quran in Florida, a Muslim youngster on Friday tore into pieces a copy of the Bible at the entrance of a Lahore church and also tried to burn it before being caught red-handed.

The incident happened outside Saint Joseph’s Church, situated on Lawrence Road, as Christians were busy in their religious services ahead of Good Friday.

Police told The Express Tribune that the youth, identified as Akhtar Hussain, went berserk when security detail stopped him from entering the church premises and started tearing the Christians’ holy book.

Sources in the Civil Lines Police Station said they have registered an FIR against the accused under section 295-A of the Pakistan Penal Code and arrested him. The offender, if convicted, could be jailed for 10 years.

Police said the accused was a resident of Kasur and worked in a factory at Sue Asil, near Lahore. According to the FIR No 314/20011, the accused bought the holy book from Yuhna Abad, a Christian-majority area, and reached Lahore to give vent to his anti-Christian feelings.

During preliminary investigation, the man confessed that he offered Zohr prayers at Masjid-e-Shuhada, and reached the church’s gate which is a few yards away from the mosque, officials said.

They added that thrice he tried to enter the church but could not because of tight security. They said he had plans to defile the book by tearing it in the main hall of the church where religious service was ongoing. As these are Christians’ fasting days, they observe their religious rituals every Friday.

The police officials quoted him as saying that he preferred to be killed for the sake of Islam. He told investigators that he had committed the act in retaliation of the burning of the Holy Quran in Florida and silence of Pakistani government over it. Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Cap (retd) Liaqat Ali Malik said that by timely arresting him, the police have averted Muslim-Christian clash. He said he would be presented before the court on Saturday (today) to take his remand for further investigation.

Head of Masiha Millat Party (MMP) Aslam Sahotra said the man committed the outrage to hurt the religious sentiments of Christians. He said some Christians, while on their way to the church, overpowered him as he defiled the holy book. They gave him a good thrashing and took him inside the church..

Saleem Gabriel, former member of District Council and president MMP Punjab, said the police deliberately did not make them complainant in the FIR. He said the police tried to favour the accused by becoming complainant themselves.





Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th, 2011.