LAHORE: Police arrested a cleric on Friday on a charge of inciting a 15-year-old boy to chop off his hand for alleged blasphemy.

Anwar, 15, of Deepalpur, Okara district, attended a Milad gathering at a mosque in Hujra Shah Muqeem area on Jan 11 where the prayer leader, Shabbir Ahmed, confronted the gathering with a poser: “Tell me who has stopped praying and does not believe in the Holy Prophet (PBUH).”

The boy raised his hand by mistake. The prayer leader and the crowd accused him of committing blasphemy there and then.

The guilt-ridden boy slipped away from the gathering, went home and chopped off the hand which he had raised by mistake. He then placed the chopped hand in a plate and presented it to the cleric.

The family of the boy celebrated the act and refused to take any action against the Shabbir Ahmed, the prayer leader.

But police registered a case under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and 324 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on Saturday against the cleric on behalf of the state.

Station House Officer Nousher said Shabbir Ahmed had been booked and arrested for declaring the boy infidel and inciting him to cut off his hand.

Farasat Gilani, an eyewitness, told Dawn that the boy had raised his hand without grasping the question.

“As soon as he raised his hand, the cleric termed him a blasphemer. The boy felt guilty and went to his house and cut off his hand to prove his faith,” he said.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2016