Christian couple arrested for 'desecration' of Quran in Lahore

LAHORE: A Christian couple was taken into custody after a blasphemy case was registered against them for allegedly desecrating a copy of the Quran in the jurisdiction of North Cantonment Police Station, local media reported.

Taimur, a resident of Harbanspura, filed a complaint with the police, saying he was standing at a food shop on a street near the Rangers headquarters when he saw some pages being thrown from the roof of a nearby house.

He picked up the pages, which were found to be from the Quran, Dawn reported.

The complainant claimed that he approached the house and knocked on the door. A woman opened the door and he inquired as to who had thrown the pages.

According to him, the woman responded that her minor daughters and son might have thrown the pages. However, Taimur insisted on checking the home, at which the woman allowed him to enter the house, Dawn reported.

The complainant went to the rooftop of the house where, he claimed, a pink colour bag placed near the water tank contained more pages of the Quran.

He contacted the police, who came to the scene and took away the pages, Dawn reported.

The North Cantonment police registered a blasphemy case against the woman and her husband for their alleged involvement in desecrating the holy scripture. The case was filed under Section 295-b of the Pakistan Penal Code.

SP Awais Shafique told the media that both suspects had been arrested and were now awaiting legal proceedings.

The incident comes in the wake of the August 16 violent episode in which a mob ransacked and set fire to nearly two dozen churches, attacked the houses of Christian community members, and targeted the office of an assistant commissioner in Jaranwala.

Reports suggest the violence in Jaranwala erupted after some local residents claimed to have found several desecrated pages of the Quran near a house, where two Christian brothers were residing, Dawn reported.