August 21, 2024
Staff report
LAHORE
On August 19 the police arrested a man accused of allegedly desecrating the Quran following a domestic quarrel with his wife in the Badami Bagh area of Lahore.
According to reports, one A* had an argument with his wife on the night of August 19. During the dispute, A* unintentionally dropped a copy of the Quran he had been holding in his hands in a fit of anger.
News of the incident spread quickly in the area, with an agitated crowd quickly gathering outside the couple’s residence. Upon receiving information, Badami Bagh police reached the scene and took the accused into custody, whereby he was shifted to a safe location.
An FIR under section 295-B (Defiling, etc., of Holy Qur’an) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) was registered on the complaint of a resident of the neighbourhood where A’s house is located. According to the FIR, the complainant. Mohammad Nouman, who is a neighbour of A*claimed that he and other neighbours heard loud noises from the accused’s home. Upon reaching there, they claimed that they saw A* in his courtyard standing on the Holy Quran before tearing out its pages.
When his neighbours demanded an explanation for his actions, A* said that he did this in anger after a heated argument with his wife.
Voicepk.net contacted the Badami Bagh Station House Office (SHO) Ijaz Bhatti, who stated that the dispute between the accused and wife came about because the latter believed his wife was cheating on him. A* attempted to get his wife to take an oath by placing her hand on the Quran, however an argument ensued following which the accused threw the scripture on the ground in anger. His wife immediately raised an alarm, drawing a crowd outside their home.
SHO Bhatti told Voicepk.net that the accused was presented before a magistrate on Monday, 20th August, where he confessed to committing the offence in a fit of anger and sought forgiveness from the court.
Investigation into the incident is currently underway, while in view of simmering tensions in the area, police have tightened security to prevent any untoward incident.
*The name has been omitted for the safety of the individual