A Pakistan boy cut off his hand in a rare instance of self-punishment after he was accused of blasphemy, police said on Saturday.
The incident, which apparently stemmed from a misunderstanding, occurred in a village in the eastern province of Punjab.
Muhammad Anwar, 15, was attending a sermon when the cleric asked if anyone present was not a true lover of the prophet.
The boy misheard the question, and enthusiastically raised his hand, causing the others to accuse him of heresy, police chief Mehr Nausher Ahmad Kathia told dpa.
He was told that he had joined enemies of the prophet by raising his hand, so he vowed to remove the hand, Kathia said.
The teenager went home and cut off the appendage at the wrist, and later presented it to the cleric on a platter as a symbol of his repentance.
The extreme act was celebrated by the parents and fellow villagers as a token of his love for the prophet, the police chief said.
"Nobody lodged any report, but we are investigating it and a case will be registered if needed," Kathia said.
Blasphemy laws were introduced by former military ruler Ziaul Haq in the 1980s, and those accused of it are vulnerable to sudden mob violence.
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