ISLAMABAD: Police have booked six men under the country's blasphemy law for allegedly desecrating a Sikh man's turban during a fight. Mahinder Paal Singh, 29, said he was travelling from Faisalabad to Multan by a bus owned by Kohistan-Faisal Movers when it broke down. Though the driver got the vehicle to start again, its slow speed took them five hours to travel the short distance between Dijkot and Chichawatni.
At the terminal, Singh and other passengers complained to the transport company's staff about the slow speed of the bus and demanded a different vehicle for the rest of the journey. A fight broke down during which five employees of the transport company and the terminal owner allegedly manhandled the passengers, including Singh.
He alleged that a bus terminal hawker threw his turban on the ground, adding that the turban is considered sacred in the Sikh religious code and throwing it on the ground amounted to “desecration”. He also told the policemen after the incident that the attackers “should be booked under the blasphemy law”. Police official Khaizer Hayat said the men who attacked Singh had been booked under sections 295, 148 and 506 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The police are conducting raids to arrest the terminal owner, Haji Riyasat.
Singh alleged some local politicians were backing the suspects and influencing the investigations. He appealed to Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif to ensure justice is done.
