The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the immediate arrest of the men involved in desecrating a Hindu temple in Rahim Yar Khan and recover expenses from the accused for the restoration of the property.

A two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed which included Justice Qazi Amin heard the suo moto case. The IG Punjab Inam Ghani, chief secretary and additional advocate general were also present during the hearing.

A mob vandalized the temple in Bhong village of Punjab on Thursday after hearing reports that bail had been granted to a 9-year-old Hindu child, accused of urinating in a seminary.

The chief justice took notice of the incident after meeting with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmaker Ramesh Kumar who is also patron-in-chief of Pakistan Hindu Council.

During Friday's hearing, the Punjab government presented a report in the apex court related to the incident.

Reprimanding the inspector general and chief secretary, the chief justice asked what the police and administration were doing when the mob attacked the temple.

The IG told the court the assistant commissioner and ASP were present on the spot, however, the administration was concerned about the safety of 70 houses which were located in the surrounding areas of the temple.

The chief justice remarked that the police officials were the spectators and that due to the incident the country was defamed across the world.

Justice Amin asked if the police had arrested any accused of the incident.

The IG replied so far no one was arrested.

The chief justice also expressed anger over the failure of officials to arrest the accused and said three days have passed since the incident happened and no arrest has been made.

The police would arrest the criminals, if the officials were professional, he remarked.

Imagine the reaction of Muslims, if this would happen with a mosque, said the chief justice.

Justice Amin then said the police failed to fulfill their responsibility and he was skeptical the officials would try patch things up with accused and the temple would be constructed by state funds.

Justice Gulzar also asked what did an eight-year old child knew about religion and why was he arrested? Did the police have no idea about the mental capacity of children of this age, he asked.

The court also ordered the dismissal of the SHO who arrested the child.