MUZAFFARABAD, May 18: A Chinese man working on an energy project in Azad Kashmir was being held on Saturday after hundreds of protesters attacked his office over alleged desecration of the Quran, officials said.

Lee Ping, administration manager of a Chinese consortium building the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower project, was accused by co-Pakistani workers of throwing the holy book on the ground.

“We have taken Ping into protective custody after protests erupted in the company when Pakistani labourers saw him throwing the belongings of a Pakistani worker, including the Quran,” said Sardar Gulfraz, a senior police official.

Lee Ping was moving the belongings of a Pakistani doctor after the latter had refused to vacate his room for relocation.

“Doctor Sajid had a dispute with the company management about the relocation of his room. He refused to vacate the room and Ping threw out all his belongings in anger,” said another police official Raja Anser Shahzad.

“Labourers saw Ping throwing out luggage including the Quran and they started protesting. Later, people from outside the company joined the rally and around 1,000 protesters attacked his office,” Shahzad said.

Police said the incident happened on Friday. “They damaged vehicles and broke windows inside the company premises. We have called in extra police to protect instalments and have also moved Ping to a secret location for protective reasons,” Gulfraz said.—AFP