After confrontation with a mosque Imam who had refused to make an announcement about the death of a Christian neighbour, a man and his three sons were arrested in Khodi Khushal Singh, a village near Lahore, on blasphemy charges.
A blasphemy case has been lodged by the Burki Police after a woman, wife of the man and mother of three other arrested, visited a local mosque to ask for an announcement for the death of a Christian neighbour.
According to reports, the mosque prayer leader had told the woman that Islam only allows them to make announcements for funerals of Muslims. A report prepared by Burki Police said that the woman went back and told her husband about the entire episode. The husband and his sons got furious and went to the mosque and allegedly argued with the Imam.
The sad incident took place at Khodi Khushal Singh village early on Nov 18, 2021 and the first information report (FIR) was registered against the four Muslim men on the complaint of a member of the mosque committee.
Later, the issue went viral on social media where human rights activists condemned the incident, calling it a misuse of blasphemy laws.
Cantt Division Superintendent of Police Eesa Sukhera said the woman and her family members were Muslim. Police had the allegations verified by locals and others and lodged a case when the matter was brought to the notice of senior police officers.
Eesa Sukhera confirmed that Christian residents of the area had nothing to do with the incident.
According to reports, some Christian residents of the village have shifted with their relatives to other parts of the city in fear.
Meanwhile, Human rights activists have condemned the incident, criticizing the police for registering a blasphemy case over a personal dispute and called it exaggeration.
Police in Lahore have registered a blasphemy case against four men for having asked their local mosque to make a funeral announcement for a Christian neighbour, which the mosque's maulvi refused to do. https://t.co/psqrD5TwXs
— Asad Hashim (@AsadHashim) November 25, 2021
