Man arrested in Pakistan for forcing Hindu boy to hurl abuses at deities

A PAKISTANI man has been arrested for slapping and forcing a Hindu boy to mock and hurl abuses at his religious deities in the southern Sindh province after a video of the incident went viral on social media, police said on Tuesday (27).

Mukesh Bheel, the young boy who works at the Thar Coal Project, can be seen in the video begging the man to forgive and let him go as he is being slapped and abused.

The man at one stage orders the boy to hurl obscenities at his religious deities and can also be heard telling the visibly shaken boy to say “Allahu Akbar”.

The Mithi police in Tharparkar arrested the man identified as Abdul Salam Abu Dawood from Khoski in Badin district where he had fled after the video went viral on social media on Monday (26) night.

It was not immediately clear when the exchange was recorded, but Mithi police station officer Muhammad Soomar said Dawood had stopped Bheel on the main road around five to six kilometres from Mithi near the shrine of Chutthan Shah and slapped him.

The officer said the suspect had grabbed the victim by the neck while forcing him to hurl abuses at his religious deities.

Bheel was also forced to hurl abuses at his mother and sister.

According to local journalists, Dawood too used to work at the Thar Coal Project, but had been sacked some time ago. His Facebook profile still lists the Thar Coal Project as his employer.

According to official estimates, 7.5 million Hindus live in Pakistan. However, as per the minority community, over nine million Hindus are living in the country.

A majority of Pakistan's Hindu population is settled in Sindh where they share culture, traditions and language with their Muslim neighbours.