On March 13th, 2013, Sawin and a friend engaged in a argument. After the argument was over, his friend called the local Mosque informing them that Sawin had insulted the Prophet Muhammad during their arguments. Only 48 hours later, the mosque began broadcasting the allegation over loudspeakers and a crowd of over 3,000 men swarmed the small Christian community of Joseph Colony. They began smashing stores, looting, and destroying buildings in the community, culminating with the burning of two churches. Although no exact figure is known, it is widely believed that over 100 Christian families were left displaced with many times that number left jobless.
Sawin was arrested and in his appeal to the Lahore High Court stated
“They hatched a conspiracy to push out the residents of the colony, they contrived a case and got it filed by a person who was close to me. I am innocent.”
He is currently still in prison and his most recent appeal in 2019 was referred to the Anti-Terrorism courts for further review.