LAHORE: A Christian teenager in Pakistan has been arrested and imprisoned for allegedly burning the pages of the Holy Quran, officials said Sunday. The incident occurred in Punjab, with a local police official saying police had caught 18- year-old Asif Masih "redhanded".
"On the night of August 12, police received a complaint that a Christian boy has been found burning pages of the Holy Quran outside a shrine," Asghar Ali told AFP. The incident was confirmed by another local police official, Pervaiz Iqbal, who is investigating the case.
“When the police took the suspect into custody and brought him to a police checkpost, a crowd of around 200 men gathered outside...demanding the culprit be handed over to them," Pervaiz Iqbal said. "We then secretly moved the culprit to the police station in Wazirabad where he was interrogated and confessed to his crime."
Asif Masih was charged under section 295-B of Pakistan’s penal code, added Pervaiz Iqbal, referring to a part of the country’s Constitution that makes the death sentence mandatory for anyone who damages or desecrates the Holy Quran.