Islamabad , Pakistan ( CNN ) -- Pakistani police say a Muslim cleric planted evidence to link a Christian girl to blasphemy -- a new twist in a case that has fanned flames of religious tension in the country and attracted worldwide interest . The imam , Khalid Jadoon Chishti , will himself face blasphemy charges for tearing pages out of a Quran to use as evidence against the girl , Islambad police chief Bin Yamin said . The latest development may make it easier for the girl , 14-year-old Rimsha , to be released on bail at her next court hearing . Police arrested Rimsha last month after a neighbor accused her of burning pages containing texts from the Muslim holy book , the Quran . Rimsha had two shopping bags with her : one containing ashes and the other , the partially burned pages , police said . She had gathered the paper as fuel for cooking , authorities said . Even though Rimsha 's lawyer said no one actually saw the girl burning the papers , the neighbor went to Chishti -- the neighborhood cleric -- with the bags for safekeeping as evidence . Chishti was n't certain that simply burning pages with texts from the Quran would be enough to convict Rimsha on blasphemy charges , said Munir Jaffery , the investigating officer in the case . So , the imam added two pages from the holy book itself to the bag to bolster the case , Jaffery said . Police arrested Chishti on Saturday after three witnesses told a judge about the imam 's actions . He was sent to jail for 14 days , accused of evidence tampering . Chishti has denied the allegation , authorities said . Yamin , the police chief , drew a distinction between the accusations against the two , saying Rimsha is a simple-minded minor , while the imam is highly educated in religious studies and indulged in the act of blasphemy willfully.Â Â. Insulting Islam provokes widespread and immediate reaction in Pakistan , a predominantly Muslim nation . Its controversial blasphemy law makes the crime punishable by death . Critics have said the legislation is being used to entrap minorities . Punjab Gov . Salman Taseer , who criticized the law , was shot to death by his security guard last year . A Pakistani court then suspended the guard 's death sentence . In Rimsha 's case , about 150 people gathered on August 17 -- the day she was arrested -- in the area where the neighborhood 's Christian population lives and threatened to burn down their houses , police said . Her relatives have gone into hiding . During a tense hearing Saturday , Muslim lawyers demanding that Rimsha remain in jail got into a shouting match with the judge . They provided a list of reasons the girl should be detained , including questioning whether the girl gave her lawyer the power of attorney . A judge ordered investigators to get more details on her power of attorney and postponed the hearing to Monday . Before Saturday , a decision was supposed to come Thursday , but was deferred so authorities could answer questions about her medical history . `` All these are the delaying tactics by the lawyers of the complainant to keep the girl in jail , '' said her lawyer , Tahir Naveed Choudhry . Her lawyers dashed into a car and sped off after the hearing Saturday for safety reasons . Rimsha did not attend . Pakistani authorities have come under pressure to guarantee Rimsha 's safety amid concerns that if she is released on bail , angry Muslims will seek retaliation . Choudhry has sought bail , saying she is legally a minor and should be reunited with her parents rather than kept in a jail with adults . He cited a report by an independent medical board stating that the girl is 14 . The doctors who examined her also concluded that her mental age was lower than her chronological age and she suffers from Down syndrome , he said . Police have said the girl is illiterate and denied knowing there were Quran verses on the documents she allegedly burned . Choudhry says he expects the trial to last as long as two years . Rimsha would remain in custody for its duration if bail is denied , he said . If she is tried as a minor , she might receive a milder sentence if convicted . As an adult , she faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for blasphemy , the lawyer said . The imam 's arrest may prompt a reexamination of the allegations against the girl , authorities said Sunday . `` We have strong evidence against ( the cleric ) , '' said Naveed Chaudhry , an adviser to Pakistan 's president . `` ( Rimshi 's ) lawyer is going to court for bail . She might be released by Monday based on this evidence . ''
NEW : The man involved in the case is himself accused of burning a Quran . Rimsha , a teenaged girl , is accused of burning Islamic religious verses . The case has heightened religious tension in Pakistan . Pakistani authorities are under pressure to guarantee her safety .