SIALKOT, Sept 12 The Sambrial police on Saturday arrested the chief suspect in alleged desecration of the Holy Quran and registered a case against him.

Fanish Masih, son of Riasat Masih, has been charged with desecrating the Holy Quran at Jaithikey village on Friday, sparking off a protest by some people (Muslims) who went to the extreme of setting fire to a church and ransacking two adjacent houses of local Christians.

The police registered a case (720/2009) on the petition of a local farmer, Muhammad Asghar Ali, under sections 295-B and 354 of PPC.

According to the FIR, Fanish Masih snatched a copy of the Holy Quran from Hina, daughter of the complainant, when she was going to her home after attending class in a mosque on Friday afternoon. The accused threw the copy into a drain.

The police said Fanish and four others -- Saleem Masih, Qaisar Masih alias Gona, Danish Masih and Nadeem Masih -- snatched a pa'ara (copy of the Holy Quran) from Hina, threw it into drain and fled.

Meanwhile, tension prevailed over Jaithikey village where a huge police contingent besieged the troubled area and patrolled the village, assisted by personnel of the Elite Force who stood alert at rooftops, shops and other buildings.

The houses of the Christians in the vicinity remained locked for the second consecutive day as all local Christians have left the village. The District Peace Committee held a meeting on law and order situation. PML-N MNA Khwaja Muhammad Asif chaired the meeting that approved a security plan to ensure peace and sectarian harmony.

Khwaja Asif stressed the need for making concerted efforts for promoting harmony in society. He said the government was taking steps to avert any further incident. He told the meeting that Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had taken serious notice of the incident and directed the police to ensure early arrest of the perpetrators.

Many other PML-N parliamentarians, Sialkot DCO Tariq Zaman, DPO Waqar Ahmad Chauhan and others concerned attended the meeting.

Earlier, the MNA visited Jaithikey village to have first-hand knowledge of the incident. Senior administrative officials held talks with the protesters represented by the PML-N, the Shabab-i- Milli, the Sunni Tehrik, the Jamaat-i-Islami and the Jamaat Ahle Sunnah. Their leaders gave the police 24-hour deadline to arrest the accused.

DPO Waqar Ahmad told newsmen that the accused would be arrested soon. The police kept in custody Fanish's father Riasat Masih, 50, on the plea of “saving his life”.

On the other hand, Christian leaders took out rallies in Sialkot to protest torching of the church. They blocked Kashmir Road to traffic by burning tyres, expressing their anguish by displaying banners and placards. Also wearing black armbands, they chanted slogans against the government.