Pakistani police say authorities have arrested an imam who had accused a Christian girl of blasphemy.
Munir Jaffery, an investigating officer in the case, said on Sunday that Khalid Jadoon Chishti was arrested late on Saturday for allegedly having planted pages of a Quran in a shopping bag containing burned papers and ash that had been carried by the Christian girl.
Fourteen-year-old Rimsha Masih was later accused of burning pages of the Quran, a serious offence in Pakistan that can result in life in prison.
The reversal could lead to the girl being released from prison and defuse what has been a religiously charged case in Pakistan.
The case has been especially sensitive because of the girl's young age and questions about her mental capacity.
According to Pakistan's DawnNews, a large number of police made the arrest after Hafiz Zubair, a muezzin in the same mosque, gave witness testimony to a magistrate stating that he had seen Chishti plant the evidence.
Zubair said that the imam had received the burnt pages in two bags from a local complainant, and that he had tried to prevent the leader from tampering with the evidence.
Source: Aljazeera, September 2, 2012
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