SIALKOT: A Sri Lankan national, working as a manager at a private factory on Wazirabad Road in Sialkot, was tortured to death by a mob over allegations of blasphemy on Friday—dubbed by Prime Minister Imran Khan as “a day of shame”. The manager, in charge of production at the factory, was identified as Priyantha Kumara.
District Police Officer Omar Saeed Malik said the workers of the factory beat him severely, leading to his demise. The employees also vandalised the factory and blocked traffic, according to the police. Upon receiving a report of the incident, a heavy contingent of police reached the spot and tried to control the situation.
The charred remains of a damaged vehicle is kept near the premises of a factory in Sialkot on December 3, 2021, after police confirmed that a Sri Lankan factory manager was beaten to death and set ablaze by mob, in an incident local media reported was linked to alleged blasphemy.
The charred remains of a damaged vehicle is kept near the premises of a factory in Sialkot on December 3, 2021, after police confirmed that a Sri Lankan factory manager was beaten to death and set ablaze by mob, in an incident local media reported was linked to alleged blasphemy. AFP “After successful talks with the angry group of protesters, traffic was resumed on the road,” the police official said ‘Definitely very sad and shameful’:
President Arif Alvi appreciated the “prompt action” taken by the prime minister and the government.”The Sialkot incident is definitely very sad and shameful, and not religious in any way whatsoever,” he wrote.
President said that Islam is a religion that “established cannons of deliberative justice rather than mob lynchings”.
PM Imran Khan, in a statement on Twitter, ‘Day of shame: termed the event a “horrific vigilante attack”, noting that the manager had been “burned alive”.”The horrific vigilante attack at a factory in Sialkot and the burning alive of the Sri Lankan manager is a day of shame for Pakistan,” he said.
The PM said he is overseeing the investigations and let it be known that “all those responsible will be punished with full severity of the law”. “Arrests are in progress,” he added.
‘Cold blooded murder’ The Inter-Services Public Relations issued a statement on behalf of Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa which termed the act a “cold blooded murder”.”The cold blooded murder of Sri Lankan national, Mr Priyantha Kumara, by a mob in Sialkot is extremely condemnable and shameful,” the statement said.
