Christian boy imprisoned over blasphemy charge

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.