Pakistani Police detain Hindu school principal over ‘blasphemy’
Pakistani Police have detained a Hindu school principal in the southern town of Ghotki, after he was accused of committing blasphemy by a student, prompting riots by far-right protesters, Police officials and Hindu community leaders say. Notan Lal, the owner and principal of a private school in Ghotki, located about 425km north of Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, was taken into “protective custody” on Sunday, senior Police official Farrukh Lanjar told Al Jazeera. “He is in protective custody and we are inquiring about what his role is [in the incident],” said Lanjar. “The student has also been questioned. The inquiry is under process.” Blasphemy is a sensitive subject in Pakistan, where at least 75 people have been killed since 1990 in connection with allegations of the crime, according to an Al Jazeera tally.
The crime, which includes insulting the Quran (Islam’s holy book), attacking religious sites or insulting Prophet Muhammad, can carry a mandatory death penalty.
At least 40 people are serving life sentences or are on death row for blasphemy in Pakistan, according to the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). On Sunday, an angry mob ransacked the school where the incident allegedly took place and attacked a Hindu temple, badly damaging its interior, members of the Hindu community told Al Jazeera. “In the temple, they broke the windows, and the things inside, including our idols, were also damaged,” said Mukhi Kika Ram, the leader of the local Hindu community.
Ram said several shops and homes were also damaged by rioters.