Pakistan's Muslim extremists chop off man's hands for refusing to convert to Islam

Lahore: A Pakistani Christian man's both hands were chopped off allegedly by some Muslim men for refusing to convert to Islam, media reports said today.

Police, however, have dismissed the victim's allegation, claiming he lost his hands in a train accident.

Aqeel Masih, 25, complained to police, yesterday alleging that the unidentifed Muslim men chopped his hands off with an axe for not converting to Islam on June 24, the Dawn reported.

"Some people came to me and asked me to convert to Islam. On my refusal, they attacked me with an axe and cut my both hands off," said Masih, who was treated at Jinnah Hospital.

He said he did not know the name of the attackers and could only recognise them if he saw them.

Lahore police senior officer Amara Ather, however, said that according to a medical report submitted by a doctor, Masih had lost his hands in a train accident near a beverage factory in Gulberg.

Quoting eyewitnesses, Athar said Masih was lying unconscious on the track near a railway track when a train engine crushed his hands up to the elbows.

"Some people rushed to the railway track after hearing his cries and shifted him to Jinnah Hospital," she was quoted as saying by the daily.

She said some four to five people were present on the spot.

The police officer said evidence was being collected and a case would be registered against unidentified people after recording Masih's statement.