Sialkot lynching: Priyantha Kumara's remains laid to rest at his home

Tuesday, 07 December 2021 - 9:28

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The body of Priyantha Kumara Diyawadana was brought to the island yesterday and was last to rest at his residence

It is the house where his wife and children live in the deserted area of ​​Ganemulla - Pokuna Junction - Kandaliyadda.

The last rites will be conducted tomorrow (07).

The remains of the Sri Lankan factory worker Priyantha Kumara taken to Lahore Airport and the flight carrying his remains departed the airport at 12 noon Pakistan time on UL 186 to Colombo.

The body was taken to the Negombo Hospital where an autopsy was conducted.

The body was then taken to a flower shop in Colombo and brought to his home in Ganemulla.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet meeting held yesterday also focused on the assassination of Priyantha Kumara.

It is reported that the Cabinet has approved to provide assistance of Rs. 2.5 million to his wife and children.

The Punjab interagency on Saturday said the removal of a sticker, which according to arrested workers contained religious writings on it, was used as an excuse to lynch the Sri Lankan manager whose body was later set ablaze in Sialkot.

“The apparent grudge was of the manager being strict and the sticker removal was only made as an excuse to lynch him,” according to the Punjab interagency report submitted to Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.

The provincial interagency had conducted its investigation into the ghastly murder of a Sri Lankan manager, identified as Priyantha Kumara, by a mob in Sialkot on Friday that has shocked the nation. The brutal killing drew widespread criticism from government officials, ambassadors, sportspersons, celebrities, and human rights bodies.

The report comes at a time when the Sri Lankan president and prime minister expressed their hopes that the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf-led government would do justice by punishing all those involved in the murder.

Sialkot was the top trend on Friday, with people lamenting the mindset and lawlessness across the country.

According to videos of the horrific video, hundreds of people had blocked the Wazirabad Road after torching the body of the manager. People on-site took selfies against the backdrop of the body.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, who described the incident as a ‘day of shame,’ has vowed that all those responsible would be punished with the full severity of the law.

“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,” he said in a tweet.

Expressing its “deep concern” on the Sialkot incident, Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that the country trusted the Pakistani government and Prime Minister Imran Khan would ensure justice and ensure the safety of the remaining Sir Lankan workers in the country.

A similar concern was shown by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. “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. Sri Lanka and her people are confident that PM Imran Khan will keep to his commitment to bring all those involved to justice,” it read.

The interagency report further added that Priyantha had been working as the factory manager for the past 11 years and was considered a “tough manager” who would be strict on discipline.

“The factory owners had been happy with the work of Priyantha,” it read, adding that some days back the manager had fired some workers as well on disciplinary issues.

“Around 11 am yesterday [Friday], Priyantha asked factory workers to clean all machines as a delegation of international dignitaries was expected to visit the factory in the coming days. He had also asked for workers to remove the stickers on the machines,” the report read.

The arrested workers claimed that the stickers had some “religious writings” on them and “the content of the sticker was contended upon.”

It added: “The apparent grudge was of the manager being strict and the sticker removal was only made as an excuse to lynch him.”

Further detailing the timeline of the event, the agency said the factory owners had left the premises at the time of the incident. “They [factory owners] could have stopped it all right at the start,” it read.

“Then, at 11:17 am the police were informed and at 11:25 am three policemen reached the site where the crowd clearly outnumbered the police. Reinforcements took time to arrive because of the rush, the traffic jam and mob which is said to be of over 1,000.”

As many as 12 people have so far been arrested with the help of footage – including the two main culprits – and more arrests were likely to be made as well.

“The upper body of Priyanatha has been found burnt. The lower body was not burnt. The areas which are not burnt, bones of those areas are cracked due to the amount of torture,” according to the postmortem of the body.

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