An 8-year-old Hindu boy in Pakistan was charged with blasphemy for urinating near where Muslim madrassa books are kept, according to a report from the Guardian.

The boy is the youngest person ever to be charged with blasphemy. He is being held in protective police custody in east Pakistan. Blasphemy charges can carry the death penalty.

On Thursday, Pakistan deployed paramilitary troops after a Muslim crowd attacked and damaged a Hindu temple. The boy’s family went into hiding and a large number of the Hindu community have fled the conservative district of Rahim Yar Khan, in Punjab. Twenty people were arrested Saturday for the temple attack.

“We have left our shops and work; the entire community is scared and we fear backlash. We don’t want to return to this area. We don’t see any concrete and meaningful action will be taken against the culprits or to safeguard the minorities living here,” a member of the boy's family told the Guardian.

A madrassa is a type of school or educational institution that teaches Islamic subjects and is directly involved with Muslim culture.

“He is not even aware of such blasphemy issues and he has been falsely indulged in these matters. He still doesn’t understand what his crime was and why he was kept in jail for a week,” a member of the family told the Guardian.

The charges and aftermath of the incident have caught the nation's legal community off guard.

“The attack on the temple and blasphemy allegations against the eight-year-old minor boy has really shocked me. More than a hundred homes of the Hindu community have been emptied due to fear of attack," said Ramesh Kumar, a lawmaker and head of the Pakistan Hindu Council.

Members of the international community, including the U.S. Department of State, have not commented on the incident.

The U.S Commission on International Religious Freedoms reported last year that Pakistan has the highest number of mob activity and violence as a result of blasphemous acts.