PESHAWAR: A grocery-store owner in Charsadda's Shabqadar tehsil was shot dead by unknown assailants in his shop on Monday night.

Malikabad area residents and police sources allege the man, who they claim was not of sound mind, called himself a prophet.

Shabqadar Station House Officer Murtaza Khan, however, denies the allegations, saying that the crime appears to be a case of personal enmity.

The man's family registered a First-Information Report against unknown assailants.

A Supreme Court judgment issued regarding the Salman Taseer murder case in October last year said that in many cases registered in respect of blasphemy offence, false allegations are levelled for extraneous purposes and in the absence of adequate safeguards against misapplication or misuse of such law by motivated persons, the persons falsely accused of that offence suffer beyond proportion or repair.

Know more: Call for improvements in blasphemy law not objectionable: SC

Earlier this year, a 15-year-old boy cut off his own hand after believing he had committed blasphemy, only to be celebrated by his parents and neighbours for the act. Following the incident, police arrested the imam of a mosque on terror charges for 'inciting' the boy to cut off his hand.