LAHORE, Feb 2: A 40-year-old Christian woman has been charged with blasphemy in Chhanga Manga. Martha Bibi was put under arrest on Friday.

The complaint against the woman was made by one Mohammad Dilbar on Jan 22. The complainant named two of his acquaintances — Mohammad Aslam and Mohammad Ramzan — in the FIR as witnesses to the alleged crime.

Mr Dilbar accused Martha Bibi of blaspheming the Holy Prophet (PBUH) near a mosque. However, her relatives alleged that police had registered the case without investigation.

Zulfikar Gill, a district councillor in Kasur, told Dawn that he had urged the Kasur SP to carry out a `thorough investigation’ before reaching any conclusion. "But I was told that Martha was arrested to protect her from residents threatening to kill her and set her house on fire," he added.

"We can’t allow people to desecrate the name of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The complaint lodged against her is true," said Chhanga Manga Police Station SHO Reza Shah while talking to Dawn over telephone.

"The SP has asked me to go to the area to investigate the incident. My visit confirmed it. The SP asked me to immediately book Martha under Section 295-C," the SHO said. "Had we not arrested her, the people would have killed her."

Martha's relatives accused the police of `playing the judge and the jury’. Her family has gone into hiding.

Councillor Gill and Martha's husband Boota alleged the `conspiracy’ had been hatched up by Ramzan, the witness in the FIR, and his wife who wanted to settle an old score with Martha.

They said Martha was accused of blasphemy after she went to the mosque to demand payment for construction material she had sold to the people building it. The woman and her husband run an agency dealing in construction material.