On 21st July 2013, a crippled Christian man, Shafaqat Emmanuel, and his wife, Shagufta Kausar, were arrested in Gojra District for allegedly sending blasphemous text messages to local Muslims. Police registered the FIR 407/13 under sections 295-B and 295-C. Complainants Muhmmad Hussain and Anwar Mansoor Goraya, Tehsil Bar Association president, alleged they received the blasphemous text messages from the number registered on Shagufta Kausar’s name.
The Station House Officer (SHO) of Gojra City Police Station, Mr. Muhammad Nasir, said:
“The police had verified that the SIM used to send the blasphemous text messages was registered in Shagufta’s name whereas her husband admitted to use her phone to send the messages to Hussain”
However, Shagufta told the police that they had lost the cell phone a month earlier. She denied the charges but police started 3rd degree torture on Shafaqat Masih, who is crippled and physically challenged. They tortured him in front of his wife and four children. Police forced him to confess to the charges or implicate others. Otherwise, they would start torturing his wife Shagufta. Then Shafaqat admitted that he had sent the messages, whereas when our lawyers visited Shafaqat Emmanuel, he denied the charges and stated:
“There is no man who can stand to see his wife being tortured by police, so to save my wife, I confessed.”
He further told the our legal team that:
“When we lost the phone and the SIM, I visited the nearby mobile shop many times to block our mobile SIM.”
According to our investigation, police confirmed Shafaqat’s statement with the mobile shop. The shop owner says that he came twice to block his SIM card.
Even after knowing the facts — that the couple had lost their cell phone and SIM card — police still registered an FIR against the crippled man and his uneducated wife.
Shagufta was working in “St. John Cathedral School” as a maid. She was the only working hand in the family, as Shafaqat Emmanuel was in a wheelchair due to a firearm injury that paralyzed his lower body. The couple has four children – Zain (12), Danish (10), Joshua (8), and Sara (6).
Frontpage Mag
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