Islamabad: A local court on Tuesday (February 8, 2022) sentenced a Hindu teacher to 25 years in prison for blasphemy in Pakistan's Sindh province. Along with this, Additional Sessions Judge Murtaza Solangi has also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Hindu teacher Nautan Lal in Ghotki, Sindh. Nautan Lal has been in jail since 2019 as an undertrial prisoner. His bail application has also been turned down twice.
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#BREAKING: Innocent Hindu minority teacher Notan Lal in Pakistan sentenced to 25 years in prison for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad during an Urdu lesson. Accusation came from a student Muhammad Ihtisham who later said he had lied. Yet courts convicted him under pressure. pic.twitter.com/Y8urpp33Kg
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) February 8, 2022
Let us inform that Nautan Lal, the owner and principal of a private school, was accused of 'insulting' Prophet Mohammad during an Urdu class by a student named Mohammad Ehtesham. However, later the student said in a tweet that he had told a lie. Journalist Aditya Raj Kaul has told that the Pakistani court did not consider the confession of Mohammad Ehtesham and convicted Nautan Lal under pressure. In September 2019, an FIR was registered against a Hindu principal of Sindh Public School for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad. Following the false allegation made by the student, there was violence and vandalism by the people of Ghotki. There were fierce protests on the streets. The school and a Hindu temple in the area were also vandalised. The police had detained Lal under Article 295 (C) of the Pakistan Penal Code to control the situation.
According to reports, after Lal was taken into custody, he was questioned in connection with the incident. Simultaneously, Mohammad Ehtesham was also interrogated. Student Mohammad Ehtisham had at the time confirmed allegations that Lal had 'disrespected' the Prophet during a lesson on his life and travels between the two holy cities. But as soon as the matter started getting viral on social media and other parts of Pakistan, Mohammad Ehtesham admitted that he had lied. He wrote on social media that, 'Nautan sir did not say anything like this. I just didn't remember the lesson so he got a little angry at me. Then I got very angry so I made such a video. I'm sorry I didn't know it would get so big. Nautan sir please forgive me. Please don't share this video. it's all lies.'
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