Sialkot couple accused of blasphemy ‘over monetary dispute’

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In what appears like another attempt to use the blasphemy law to settle a personal vendetta, a case has been registered against Amjad alias Toka, a resident of Hundal village near Sialkot tehsil, and his wife Samreena by Sialkot Saddar police under Section 295-C PPC on the report of Jamia Masjid Hundal Khateeb Maulana Ghulam Hussain, who alleged that the couple had used derogatory words against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in his mosque on Thursday night.
The main accused Amjad alias Toka faces a second blasphemy case in two and half years. The earlier case (FIR No. 389/2009) was registered by Nekapura police under Section 295-C on September 14,2009, on the report of the local mosque’s Khateeb Hafiz Shakeel Ahmed in Nawa Pind village, Sialkot tehsil. The local court in Sialkot had bailed the accused in the earlier case.
The family of the suspect accused Sialkot Saddar police of registering the blasphemy case in haste and alleged police were involved in registering a false case. They said police was obliged to verify an incident before registering a case, adding that police had registered two blasphemy cases against Amjad with the first case yet to be proved against him.
When contacted, Sialkot police said they were unable to ascertain whether the accused had blasphemed or not. Police said locals had told them the accused had an old money dispute with the accuser, Mullah Ghulam Hussain.
Meanwhile, the family of the accused asked, “How, in a society were women do not enter mosques, did Amjad’s wife Samreena Bibi enter the said mosque?”
However, accuser Maulana Ghulam Hussain refuted the allegation of a monetary dispute with the accused and swore that both accused enter the mosque and blasphemed.
On Friday, a local court sent the accused couple to Sialkot District Jail.