Riots broke out in Ghotki District of Sindh on September 15 after a school principal from the minority Hindu community was booked on charges of alleged blasphemy, reports Times of India. Widespread protests erupted in Ghotki after a FIR was filed against the Hindu principal of Sindh Public School on the complaint of Abdul Aziz Rajput, a student's father who claimed that the teacher had committed blasphemy. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan shared a video of protesters breaking the infrastructure of the school and expressed concern over the situation. "Alarming reports of accusations of blasphemy in Ghotki and the outbreak of mob violence," the rights organisation said in a tweet. Videos of stick-wielding protesters were shared on social media in which they were seen vandalising a Hindu temple and damaging the school where the incident took place.
Police on September 16 registered three cases against rioters who had taken to the streets to protest, reports Pakistan Today. According to Sukkur Additional Inspector General (AIG) Jamil Ahmed, all first information reports (FIR) have been filed in the Ghotki A-section Police Station with the State as the complainant. One FIR was filed under Sections 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class), 147 (punishment for rioting) and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). AIG Ahmed said that Section 295 was included because the protesters had vandalised a Hindu temple. Police have nominated 45 people in the FIR, out of which 22 are named while 23 are unidentified.