LAHORE: A Christian man alleged on Tuesday that some people had severed both his hands for not converting to Islam.

Police, however, doubted his version and claim he had lost his hands in a train accident.

Aqeel Masih, 25, of LDA Quarters Model Town, submitted an application to the Ghalib Market police station, stating that some Muslim men had chopped his hands off with an axe for not converting to Islam on June 24.

He was shifted to Jinnah Hospital where he remained unconscious for several days and reported the incident to police on Tuesday.

Aqeel Masih said he did not know the name of the attackers and could only recognise them if he saw them.

Model Town Superintendent of Police (SP) Amara Ather told Dawn that the man had approached police to lodge a case against unidentified people for chopping off his hands.

She said that according to a medical report submitted by a doctor, Aqeel lost both hands in a train accident near a beverage factory in Gulberg II. Some people rushed to the railway track after hearing his cries and shifted him to Jinnah Hospital.

The SP quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the man was lying unconscious on the track near a 7up Factory when a train engine crushed his hands up to the elbows. She said some four to five people were present on the spot.

She said evidence was being collected and a case would be registered against unidentified people after recording the statement of Aqeel.

The SP said the victim was an addict and his chopped hands had been handed over to his father.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2016