Law and order of Ghotki and surrounding areas deteriorated on Sunday as people in large numbers took to the streets to protest against an alleged incident of blasphemy.
The protests began on Saturday after a first information report of (FIR) was filed against a principal — who is from the Hindu community — of Sindh Public School on the complaint of Abdul Aziz Rajput, a student's father who claimed that the former had committed blasphemy. The FIR was lodged under Article 295(c) — that pertains to "derogatory remarks in respect of the Holy Prophet (PBUH)" — of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Residents of the area demanded that the police arrest the principal, issued a call for a shutter-down strike, and took to the streets in protest. Videos of stick-wielding protesters were shared on social media on Sunday, in which they were seen vandalising a Hindu temple and damaging the school where the alleged incident took place.
Ghotki Senior Superintendent of Police Farrukh Lanjar, while talking to local reporters, said that police were controlling the law and order situation in the area.
Advocate Veerji Kolhi, special assistant to Chief Minister Sindh on Human Rights, told : "The situation is being handled properly to avoid further damage or riots."
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) MNA Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, who is also the head of the Pakistan Hindu Council, told that the case has been handed over to Hyderabad Deputy Inspector General Naeem Shaikh who will further investigate the matter. He added that the principal was at an undisclosed location for safety reasons and will be handed over to Shaikh.
"I have talked to Sindh Inspector General of Police Kaleem Imam who has assured me the police will fully protect the accused, therefore, I am going to hand [the principal] over to police either in Karachi or in Hyderabad today," he said.
The MNA said that the protesters had vandalised three temples, a private school and multiple houses belonging to the Hindu community and added that he had asked police to register an FIR against people involved in the riots.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan also shared a video of protesters breaking the infrastructure of the school and expressed concern over the situation.
"Alarming reports of accusations of blasphemy in Ghotki and the outbreak of mob violence," the rights organisation said in a tweet.Users on Twitter, who shared videos and images of the protests in Ghotki, asked the PPP administration as well as AIG Ahmed to control the situation. In response to one such tweet, Ahmed said: "Yes we are trying to deal with a serious situation in a cool, calculated, impartial and professional manner. Moderate and educated sections of society must fully support our earnest efforts to do justice and maintain peace in Ghotki, please."Protests were also held in surrounding towns, including Mirpur Mathelo and Adilpur, where demonstrators blocked roads and demanded that the police arrest the school principal.
According to rights activist Sattar Zangejo, the Hindu community of the area was forced to remain indoors due to the riots.
Police have nominated more than 200 people in three cases registered in connection with the violent anti-Hindu riots witnessed in Sindh’s District Ghotki on Sunday.
Officials confirmed that three separate cases have been filed in which a total of 218 people have been nominated.
The development comes a day after hundreds of angry protesters took to the streets in Ghotki after Notan Lal, a member of the Hindu community and owner of the Sindh Public School, was accused of passing blasphemous remarks by a student.
The mob vandalised the school and at least five shops in Jilani Market owned by members of the Hindu community, while also desecrating the Sacho Satram Das temple.
In the first case registered against the rioters, 45 people have been booked under Section 295 of the Pakistan Penal Code (injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class).
Of these 45, officials said, 22 people have been identified while 23 remain unidentified.
In the second case, 150 people – 27 identified and 123 unidentified – have been accused of blocking roads and disrupting vehicular traffic.
A total of 23 people – 12 identified and 11 unidentified – have been nominated in the third case which pertains to ransacking and damage to property.
Speaking to media, Sukkur Additional Inspector General of Police Dr Jamil Ahmed said all three cases have been registered on behalf of the state.
“This is a warning to all such miscreants that no one will be allowed to challenge the writ of the state,” he said.
Dr Ahmed later took to Twitter to announce that five of the 61 identified accused have been arrested.
Allegations and agitation
A student of the SPS, Muhammad Ihtisham, had complained to his father that the school owner had allegedly passed derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
In a video that went viral on Sunday, Ihtisham said he had complained to other teachers about the remarks but he was told to keep quiet. “I then approached my family,” he said.
On Saturday, protesters gathered at the A-Section Police Station and demanded the police to register an FIR against Lal. According to the FIR, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, it was registered late on Saturday night.
For the better part of Sunday, the city administration and law enforcers failed to act even as thousands of supporters of Mian Mithoo held a sit-in on the main roads and marched towards the school.
Mian Mithoo has in the past been accused of facilitating forced conversions of Hindu girls in the region. The main protest, which attacked the Sindh Public School, was allegedly led by his elder brother, Mian Aslam.
For his part, Mian Mithoo told that he knew nothing about the incident.
In one of the videos that went viral on Sunday following the riots, Mian Aslam is seen leading a charged mob. But Mian Mithoo, a former member of the National Assembly, denied any involvement.
“I did not lead the protest,” he told “I was in Ubaro in a meeting,” he explained, adding that he was unaware of the situation in Ghotki. “I don’t have any idea. I just heard someone [a Hindu] passed comments against our Prophet (PBUH).”
Ghotki’s Hindu community finally breathed a sigh of relief on Sunday night as political and religious leaders sat down
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Crime