LAHORE - A Christian man was booked by police under blasphemy laws in Lahore on Monday, hours after religious activists blocked a busy crossing at Shahdara and demanded arrest and public hanging.

Pitras Masih, who lives near Baba Sain shrine in Dher Shahdara, was booked under 295-C of the PPC. He managed to escape shortly before an angry mob raided his house. A police official late Monday said the accused was at large and police were hunting for him.

Then, protesters moved towards the Shahdara Chowk where they staged a sit-in for a few hours to protest against the alleged blasphemy on social media.

According to the FIR, Pitras was running a Facebook page and a few days ago, he posted a picture that hurts sentiment of the local population.

Hafiz Muhammad Awais, said to be a local cleric, told the police that the accused was asked by phone to remove the photo but he did not do so. "The photo has challenged the spirit of faith of locals. The situation is tense and triggered a law and order situation. The accused, by committing blasphemy, has seriously tried to disturb peace in the area. A blasphemy case may be registered against the accused for further action," the FIR says.

Hundreds of protesters dispersed peacefully after the police registered the case. Earlier, the mob set tyres on fire and blocked the main Lahore-Muridke road for hours, triggering worst traffic mess in the entire locality. The religious activists also demanded public hanging of Pitras allegedly for committing blasphemy.