Sialkot lynching:  124 rounded up over mob attack, raids underway

Sialkot: Police has rounded up around 120 suspects over the lynching of Sri Lankan factory manager, Priyantha Kumara Diyawadanage in Sialkot.

On Friday, a mob in Sialkot tortured a Sri Lankan national to death and set his body ablaze.

The heart wrenching incident occurred on Sialkot’s Wazirabad Road, where workers of private factory attacked their export manager and burnt his body.

The First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against 800 to 900 unidentified people at Uggoki police station under sections of terrorism, attempt to murder, plot to murder, desecration of a human body and other sections.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said he was overseeing the investigation into “the horrific vigilante attack”, as he called it “a day of shame for Pakistan”. 

“Let there be no mistake all those responsible will be punished with full severity of the law,” Premier tweeted.

The horrific vigilante attack on 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 full severity of the law. Arrests are in progress

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 3, 2021

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa expressed “deep concern” and “shock” over the incident— expressing confidence that Imran Khan would bring perpetrators to justice.  

A day after the violent mob, President Gotabaya, turned to twitter and wrote, “Deeply concerned by the incident in Sialkot, Pakistan”. 

He further added that Sri Lanka trusts that Imran Khan and the government of Pakistan will ensure justice is served and ensure the safety of the remaining Sri Lankan workers in the country.

Deeply concerned by the incident in Sialkot #Pakistan. #SriLanka trusts that PM @ImranKhanPTI and the Gvt. of Pakistan will ensure justice is served and ensure the safety of the remaining Sri Lankan workers in Pakistan.

— Gotabaya Rajapaksa (@GotabayaR) December 4, 2021

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said on Twitter, “Shocking to see the brutal and fatal attack on Priyantha Diyawadana by extremist mobs in Pakistan. My heart goes out to his wife and family”.

Shocking to see the brutal and fatal attack on Priyantha Diyawadana by extremist mobs in #Pakistan. My heart goes out to his wife and family. #SriLanka and her people are confident that PM @ImranKhanPTI will keep to his commitment to bring all those involved to justice.

— Mahinda Rajapaksa (@PresRajapaksa) December 4, 2021

On the other hand, up to 120 people have been arrested and conducted raids in over 200 areas of the city, Punjab Inspector-General (IG) Rao Sardar Ali Khan said.  

Several gruesome video clips shared on social media showed a mob beating the prone victim. Some clips showed his body set ablaze, as well as the overturned wreckage of what was said to be his car.  

Incident

As per preliminary investigation, a dispute emerged when the victim Priyantha Kumara directed employees to remove some stickers from the walls of the factory in the wake of foreigners’ visit.

The workers, allegedly, didn’t act on the order due to which, Priyantha came forward and removed it himself at 10:28am. 

Shortly after the heated argument, the factory owner reached the spot to resolve the issue. Following which the manager apologised for the misunderstanding on his part.  

The matter was reportedly considered settled and the factory workers had dispersed. However, some workers who held grudge, incited their colleagues to attack the manager.  

Within a few minutes, a mob formed and set on the victim within the premises of the unit, eventually killing him. 

His body was later dragged outside the factory and burned.

Police received a phone call at 11:28am about the incident and reached the site within 12 minutes.  

Moreover, police have obtained CCTV footage of the attack from 160 cameras installed at the site.   

Autopsy report 

According to the postmortem report of Priyantha Kumara, most of his body was burnt while his bones were also broken due to severe torture. 

The autopsy report confirmed a fractured skull and brain protrusion and he died of brain damage. Around 99% of the body of the manager was completely burnt. 

All the bones, including his arms and hip, were broken with the exception of one foot.