Court sentences Hindu teacher to life in prison over ‘blasphemy’ charges

A session court sentenced a Hindu teacher, Nautan Lal, to life imprisonment over charges of ‘blasphemy’ in Ghotki, a district in Sindh. He was fined Rs50,000 as well, reports SAMAA News.

The verdict was announced by the additional session judge, Mumtaz Ali Solangi today. The court took two years to convict Nautan Lal who has been in jail since 2019 as an undertrial prisoner.

According to the verdict, he is charged with Section 265-H of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

A case was also registered against Lal under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). He was accused of passing derogatory remarks about the Holy Prophet P.B.U.H

He was sent back to Central jail in Sukkur. His requests for bail have been rejected twice for the past two years.

In September 2019, a video was circulated across social media in which an intermediate student claimed that the owner of Ghotki’s Sindh Public Higher Secondary School committed blasphemy.

Member of Jamaat Ahle Sunnat, Mufti Adul Karim Sayeedi registered a blasphemy case against the school owner.

However, teachers clarified that the Nautan Lal did not teach at the school but he just visited on that day. He used to teach Physics at Government Degree College Ghotki.

A protest erupted in the town and a violent mob attacked the Hindu Temple in Ghotki and damaged its idols.