Pakistani police have arrested a Muslim cleric for allegedly planting evidence against Rimsha Masih, a mentally handicapped Christian girl accused of committing blasphemy by desecrating texts from the Quran.
Khalid Chisti, the cleric in Masih’s neighborhood, will himself be charged with blasphemy for allegedly tearing out pages of a Quran in an effort to frame Masih.
Several witnesses have come forward claiming that after a neighbor caught Masih carrying a bag of burnt trash, Chisti added pages from the Quran hoping to stir up animosity against Christians.
“I asked him what he was doing and he said this is the evidence against them and this is how we can get them out from this area,” Chisti’s deputy, Mohammad Zubair, told a Pakistani television station after the cleric’s Sept. 1 arrest, according to The Guardian.
Police officer Munir Jafferi confirmed that Chisti will indeed be charged with blasphemy for allegedly desecrating the Quran, a crime that could land him in prison for life if convicted.
(BP)
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