Karachi, March 1 (IANS) A Hindu teacher, charged with blasphemy in 2019 in the Ghotki district of Sindh in Pakistan, was ordered by a court to be released immediately if not wanted in any other case, Express Tribune reported.
The court acquitted the accused on the grounds that the prosecution failed to establish a case against the accused.
“It is a cardinal principle of law that 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, its benefit has to go to him not as a matter of grace but as his right,” said the judgement, Express Tribune reported.
The relatives, community members and friends of the teacher have expressed concerns over his security as they believe his life is in danger.
“He was falsely accused of blasphemy in 2019 and incarcerated for nearly five years, but has finally been acquitted and ordered to be released by the court,” said Sukh Dev Hemnani, a board member of the Sindh Human Rights Commission, Express Tribune reported.
“We are trying to arrange security for him and his family,” he told The Express Tribune and added that the court reserved the verdict in the case during its last hearing but released the verdict today.
“His life is in danger as anyone could harm him,” Hemnani said, adding that ‘misinformation’ regarding the case could cause trouble for the teacher.
–IANS
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