Police on Saturday night arrested six more suspects in connection with the lynching of Sri Lankan factory manager Diyawadanage Don Nandasri Priyantha in Sialkot.
So far, a total of 124 suspects, including 13 key suspects, have been arrested in the gruesome murder case. Police will produce all the arrested suspects before court to seek their physical remand for interrogation in the killing, said police officials.
A day earlier, the Punjab government had sent an initial investigation report of the Sialkot tragedy to Prime Minister Imran Khan, well-placed sources told Geo News.
As per the preliminary report, a dispute had emerged when Kumara removed some posters from the walls of the factory at 10:28am. The posters were reportedly inscribed with the name of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
Shortly after, the factory owner had reached the spot and resolved the issue. Kumara had apologized for the misunderstanding on his part.
After Kumara made the apology, the matter was reportedly considered settled and the factory workers had dispersed.
However, some workers then incited their colleagues to attack the manager.
Within a few minutes, a mob formed and set on the victim within the premises of the industrial unit, eventually killing him.
A total of 13 security guards were present in the factory as the brutal attack was occurring. None of them tried to rescue the victim or disperse the mob, the report had said.
Kumara’s body was later dragged outside the factory.
Police received a phone call at 11:28am about the incident, officials had said. A police party had reached the site within 12 minutes.
The wife of Diyawadana Priyantha pleaded for justice for her slain husband from both Pakistani and Sri Lankan leaders, Sri Lankan news outlet Newswire reported.
“I got to know about the brutal murder of my husband from the news. Later, I saw this on the internet as well. He was a very innocent man,” she said, talking to reporters from BBC Sinhala.
“I request leaders of Sri Lanka and Pakistan to do justice for my husband and two children, by bringing the perpetrators to justice,” she went on to say. The deceased's brother said that Priyantha had been working in the Sialkot factory since 2012.
Priyantha Kumara, working as a manager at a private factory in Sialkot, was lynched on Friday by a mob after being accused of blasphemy.
The gruesome incident was dubbed by Prime Minister Imran Khan as "a day of shame for Pakistan".
Workers of a garment industry, located on Sialkot’s Wazirabad Road, had alleged that the foreigner had committed blasphemy. He was subsequently lynched and his body set on fire.
The mob had also vandalized the factory and blocked traffic, according to police.
The brutal murder drew widespread condemnation from senior government functionaries, including the prime minister and president, as well as the military's top leadership, who promised to bring all those involved to the book.