By Our Staff Reporter
Islamabad: Six men were sentenced by a court in Pakistan for their roles in last year’s vigilante killing of a Sri Lankan factory manager accused by workers of committing blasphemy. The six men sentenced to death were convicted of the murder of Priyantha Kumara Diyawadana in a case that outraged many Pakistanis.
It is worth mentioning that a charged mob had tortured to death a foreigner working in a private factory as an export manager and set his body on fire in Sialkot, an Industrial city in Pakistan’s Punjab province earlier on December 3, 2021.
According to police, the deceased was accused of insulting Prophet Mohammad ( PBUH). However, it was not clear until the filing of this report what prompted the mob to go to such an extent. The incident took place on Wazirabad Road in Sialkot, where the workers of a private factory dragged the export manager of a factory to a road, tortured him in public to death, and set his body on fire. It all happened in presence of security guards of the factory. While a number of people got busy beating the deceased with batons and daggers, the rest of the crowd broadcast the lynching live and took selfies. After the victim fell unconscious, a charged mob set him on fire. As the fire started to engulf his body, several people went on to broadcast the burning of the corpse live on social media.
ialkot District Police Officer Umar Saeed Malik identified the man as Priyantha Kumara, a Sri Lankan national.
Prime Minister Imran took to twitter a few hours following the incident and said he has taken notice and observing the investigation being made into the incident which has sent shocking waves across Pakistan.
“The horrific vigilante attack on a factory in Sialkot & the burning alive of Sri Lankan manager is a day of shame for Pakistan. I am overseeing the investigations & let there be no mistake all those responsible will be punished with the full severity of the law. Arrests are in progress,” Imran Khan tweeted.
It is relevant to mention here that on August 15, 2010, two brothers were lynched by mob to death in same city of Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan. The brothers were killed, hung, and mutilated in Sialkot with the support of local police and Rescue 1122.
The lynching was witnessed by a crowd of people including nine police officials who apparently offered no intervention. The people stood there as the two innocent boys were assaulted by a crowd of people. One of the brothers escaped and asked the local rescues services for help, but they denied and returned the boy back to the crowd where he was eventually beaten to death.The brutal killing of two brothers was recorded by some of the witness, which was later broadcast by the media. They were subjected to continuous punches and kicks, and were beaten with wooden beams and stones.
