PESHAWAR: A local court on Tuesday remanded into police custody a suspect arrested a day earlier on charges of committing blasphemy through a video message on social media.

The suspect, Bashir Mastan, was produced before a judicial magistrate amid tight security and was brought to the court in an armoured personnel carrier.

The investigation officer said that he was arrested after his video went viral on social media which had resulted into public outcry.

He requested the court for physical remand of the suspect so as to interrogate him further.

The court remanded the suspect into three-day police custody with the direction to again produce him on Sept 11.

The FIR of the occurrence was registered with the Inqilab police station in Peshawar on Sept 7 by SHO Tehseenullah.

In the FIR the SHO claimed that a video had gone viral wherein the suspect could be seen making false claim of his being a prophet.

The police claimed that the suspect, who was a resident of Charsadda, was traced though his cellular phone connection and was taken into custody from residence of one of his relatives at Ghareebabad locality in Pandhu area. It was alleged that at the time of the arrest the suspect was also having a pistol.

The FIR was registered under sections 295-C (derogatory remarks in respect of the Holy Prophet) and 298 (uttering words to wound religious feelings) of Pakistan Penal Code and section 15 of the Arms Act.

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2020