ISLAMABAD: The Punjab government and prosecution have decided to conduct the trial of suspects arrested in the Sialkot brutal lynching case of Sri Lankan national Priyantha Kumara in jail. Priyantha was killed by mob on the pretext of blasphemy. He was working as manager exports with Rajco group in Sialkot for many years.
The decision to conduct suspects trial in jail was taken in a meeting on Friday with the aim to maintain the law and order situation in the province and to ensure a fair trial. So far the Punjab police have taken into custody more than 134 suspects and remand had been taken from the court of the key suspects identified through footage and initial investigation.
The jail management has been instructed to ensure all arrangements for the trial are completed timely. The police have, on the other hand, been told to complete the case challan at the earliest.
On Friday, a special prosecution team from Lahore reached Sialkot. It met the police and visited the Rajco Industries factory site. The team went through the CCTV footage collected by the police as well.
So far, the police have arrested 131 men of which over 30 have been declared prime suspects. They were identified via CCTV footage and mobile data.
Priyantha Kumara was tortured, beaten to death, and then set on fire by a mob of more than 800 people over alleged blasphemy accusations in the Wazirabad neighbourhood.
‘Killing over blasphemy allegations impermissible’
Meanwhile, ulema across the country observed the Day of Condemnation on Friday, December 10, against the murder.
The religious scholars, in their sermons, strongly condemned the vociferous crime and declared killing over unproven blasphemy allegations “impermissible”.
They said that the courts have the authority to punish perpetrators of blasphemy and taking the law into one’s hands is not allowed under the Sharia and law of the land.
