A court ordered the immediate release of a Hindu teacher who was accused of blasphemy in the Ghotki district of Sindh in 2019 if she was not wanted in any other case.
The prosecution was unable to provide sufficient evidence to support the accused’s acquittal.
The verdict stated, “It is a cardinal principle of law that its benefit has to go to him not as a matter of grace but as his right when the prosecution fails to establish the case against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt and there are facts and circumstances leading to an inference other than the guilt of the accused.”
The teacher’s friends, family, and neighbors have voiced concerns about his safety since they think his life is in jeopardy.
Board member of the Sindh Human Rights Commission Sukh Dev Hemnani said, “He was wrongly accused of blasphemy in 2019 and imprisoned for almost five years, but has finally been acquitted and ordered to be released by the court.”
He told, “We are trying to arrange security for him and his family,” adding that the court had reserved its decision during the previous hearing but has now made it public.
Hemnani stated, “His life is in danger as anyone could harm him,” and that the teacher could run into problems due to “misinformation” about the issue.
The accusations and what transpired
Muhammad Ihtisham, a pupil at the institution, had reportedly told his father that the proprietor of the school had made disparaging comments about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Ihtisham claimed in a video that went viral during the event that he had complained about the insults to other teachers but had been advised to keep quiet about them. “I went to my family after that,” he remarked. Then, demonstrators gathered at the A-Section Police Station, requesting that the teacher be named in a formal police report (FIR). Late that day in the evening, the FIR was filed.
Social and political groups requested the accused’s release, and the school he founded in Ghotki City was shut down and given to a new owner after his incarceration.
After the accusations, there was an attack on the school. At least five stores in Jilani Market were looted during the rioting, and a large number of demonstrators damaged the Sacho Satram Mandir in the city center.
The primary demonstration, which targeted the school where the incident is said to have happened, was purportedly led by Mian Aslam, the older brother of Mian Mithoo.
Law enforcement and the city government, however, did not appear to care about the situation and did not attempt to disperse the demonstrators or secure the temple. Thousands of Mian brothers’ supporters marched in the direction of the school after staging a sit-in on the main thoroughfares.
Hindu families, who were confined to their houses, were allegedly threatened by the protestors. “We even asked our kids not to cry,” a Hindu community member said.
It was a bad dream. We were experiencing emotional trauma and weren’t sure if we could leave freely,” he said, mentioning that the demonstrators were yelling anti-religious and anti-business chants as they went around the streets.
Mian Aslam is seen spearheading the demonstration in one of the videos that went viral after the riots. However, former National Assembly member Mian Mithoo denied any involvement.
“I did not lead the protest,” “I was in Ubaro for a meeting,” he clarified, noting that he was not aware of the circumstances at Ghotki. “I’m not aware of anything. I recently heard remarks made against our Prophet (PBUH) by a Hindu.”
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