‘Lookout notice’ against publisher over Jesus image

SHILLONG - A ‘lookout notice’ has been issued against the owner of a publishing house that printed a blasphemous image of Jesus Christ in a school textbook, the Meghalaya government said Monday.

Education Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh told the state assembly that the notice was issued after the government declared Indra Mohan Jha an absconder.

The owner has been on the run since the Shillong bench of the Gauhati High Court terminated his interim bail March 15 and directed him to surrender to the authorities.

Lyngdoh said that the government had registered a criminal case against the publisher.

The objectionable pictures of Jesus Christ were found in the cursive writing exercise copies at a private school in Shillong and was brought to the notice of the church in February.

The New Delhi-based Skyline Publication had produced books meant for Class 1 students.

The controversial picture created a furore in Meghalaya. Several Church organisations and NGOs denounced the publisher.