Sri Lankan man killed in Sialkot for blasphemy: Sri Lankan PM and his wife demand justice

BBC News

 December 5, 2021

The wife of Sri Lankan citizen Priya Natha Diaudhana,who was killed after being beaten by a mob for blasphemy in the Pakistani city of Sialkot,has demanded a fair investigation and justice from the Pakistani government and Prime Minister Imran Khan."

Priya Natha, who was working as a manager in a factory in Sialkot in Punjab province, was burnt to death on Friday after being beaten to death by an angry mob for blasphemy.

Police say a case has been registered against the accused under terrorism provisions while more than 100 people are still in custody. According to reports, the body of a Sri Lankan citizen in the provincial capital Lahore will be sent to Sri Lanka in the next one to two days.

Reacting to the incident, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said, "I am confident that Prime

Minister Imran Khan will fulfill his promise and bring to justice all the accused involved in this incident."

The Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has said on Twitter that in order to express the nation's anger and remorse over the heinous murder of the Sri Lankan people in Sialkot, I called on the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today. I talked He was informed that more than 100 people had been arrested and assured that they would be dealt with severely under the law.

The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka wrote in a tweet: Share the grief of the victim's wife and family.Sri Lanka and its people are confident that Prime Minister Imran Khan will fulfill his promise and bring all those involved in the incident to justice.

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

Imran Khan strongly condemned the incident involving a Sri Lankan citizen in Sialkot, calling it "a shameful day for Pakistan".

In a tweet,he said: It is a shameful day for Pakistan that a mob attacked a factory in Sialkot and the Sri Lankan manager was burnt alive.I myself am overseeing the investigation and make it clear that those responsible will be severely punished. Arrests continue. "

My husband was an innocent man."

"My husband was an innocent man."I saw in the news that he had been brutally murdered after doing so much work abroad.

Priya's wife Natha Diaudhana

I saw on the internet that this murder was brutal.Kamala Sri Shanta Kumara's brother told the BBC that Priya Natha Diaudhana had been working in the Sialkot factory since 2012.

After the owner of the factory was in charge of all the management, as far as I know, a extremist party was filed and a strike was called off to determine the cause of the accident.In terms of education,Priya Natha Dewadhana was an engineer.Their sons are 14 and 9 years old.

The first Punjab government investigation report submitted to the Prime Minister

On the other hand, Punjab Legal Minister Raja Basharat said the initial investigation report of the Sialkot incident had been submitted to the Prime Minister and the Punjab Prime Minister. He said the Army Intelligence Service was already assisting law enforcement in investigating the Sialkot incident.

Speaking to BBC correspondent Shehzad Malik, he said that apart from ISI, the Pakistani military intelligence service, Military Intelligence officials and the Civilian Intelligence Bureau were also part of the investigative team.

He said according to the initial report of the incident, more than 100 people had been arrested so far, most of them involved in the protests and some people had been arrested in connection with the incident. They were there

According to a Sialkot police official, the detainees included about a dozen people who had been detained for fear of disturbing the peace ahead of the Tehreek-e-Libek protest.

The Minister of State for Justice, Raja Basharat, said that as a result of the initial statements of the detainees, there was an influx of people who incited the mob to harass a Sri Lankan citizen.

He said the statements of the detainees were being recorded and at the same time they were being questioned based on their statements.

Responding to a question, the provincial law minister said there was no negligence on the part of local police in the matter and that police officers arrived at the scene 20 minutes after receiving the report.

Responding to a question, Raja Basharat said the Department of Home Affairs had been contacted to return the body of a Sri Lankan citizen who was killed in the violence.

He further added that according to his knowledge, officials from the Ministry of Interior had approached the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and requested that he contact the Sri Lankan High Commission in this regard and consult with them regarding the transfer of the body to Sri Lanka. It has been said about.He asserted that his confession had been obtained through torture.

According to the provincial law minister, church security and foreign factory workers have been strengthened in Sialkot and surrounding areas.

On the other hand, while holding a press conference with IG Punjab in Lahore, a spokesman for the Punjab government said that of the 118 arrested suspects involved in the Sialkot incident, 13 major suspects are involved. All the main suspects have been identified.

He said 160 camera footage had been taken in connection with the incident and 10 teams had been formed to arrest him and the case included terrorism charges. He further added that the relevant RPOs and DPOs were monitoring the raids 24 hours a day.

Punjab government spokesman Hassan Khawar said all the main suspects involved in the Sialkot incident had been arrested and identified when I Punjab ruled that there could be police negligence.

What else is in the initial investigation report?

The first Punjab government investigation report said some workers were dissatisfied with the factory manager because of his conduct and efficiency. According to the report, the incident involving an angry Sri Lankan citizen by an angry mob began at 11am. The owners of the firms were not present at the time of the incident.

The report stated that a team of foreign companies would visit the factory. The factory manager in Sri Lanka ordered that the machines be thoroughly cleaned and asked to remove any religious stickers. The report states that when the factory workers did not release the coupon, the manager issued it himself.

According to the report, 112 suspects have been arrested so far. People were also arrested for stirring up the crowd. A preliminary investigation report said police had transferred the main suspect to an undisclosed location after their arrest for further investigation.

The report states that those involved in the incident were identified with the help of factory management.

A case has been registered against the accused under terrorism provisions

A case was registered against the accused under the provisions of terrorism in the police complaint. A Punjab police spokesman claimed that the main accused could be seen in the video allegedly torturing and inciting.

A police spokesman said they had arrested more than 100 people, whose identities were being determined by CCTV footage.

Police said raids were being carried out to nab other suspects.

Earlier, a Sialkot police official had told the BBC that the deceased had been identified as Priya Natha Kumara.He was working as a discussion export manager in a private factory on Wazirabad Road in Sialkot.

Hospital sources in Sialkot said that a badly burnt body was brought to him.

Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has also strongly condemned the incident,calling it a shameful incident and saying that such extra-judicial measures are absolutely unacceptable. "

"According to ISPR,the Army Chief said that all possible help should be provided to the civil administration to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice.

Earlier,Punjab Chief Minister's focal person Azhar Mashwani had tweeted that 50 beasts involved in the Sialkot incident have been arrested.RPO and Commissioner Gujranwala are in Sialkot and are conducting inquiries."

According to him, the investigation report will be completed in 48 hours.With the help of CCTV footage and face recognition technology near Nadar, all those responsible for the incident will be caught.

According to Sialkot police, the deceased was identified as Priya Natha Kumara

Following the Sialkot incident, several videos were distributed on social media claiming that they were on Sialkot Wazirabad Road. In these videos a burnt corpse is seen and in other videos a person is cremated.

According to Muhammad Bashir, who witnessed the incident, rumors have been circulating since this morning that Priya Natha Kumara had insulted him. The rumors spread quickly throughout the industry, after which a large number of factory workers went out on strike."

He said during the protest a large number of people re-entered the industry and not only harassed Priya Natha Kumara but also set her on fire.

Why are the rescue workers unable to rescue the victim?

A Resico 1122 official told the BBC they had received a call for riots on Wazir Road around 11.35am, minutes after the team arrived at the scene.

"When we arrived the police were small and the deceased was being abused inside the factory," he said.

"We were wearing a uniform," he said. The people were angry. It was not possible to provide the victim with any assistance in any way and it was not possible for anyone to intervene.

At that moment, they abused the victim and brought her to the street.

According to rescuers, the deceased was already dead when he was brought to the road.

Angry people brought the man into the street and set him on fire, chanting slogans. The police tried to intervene but the police were too small and the people angry were too many.

According to rescuers, we were able to take the body to the burnt hospital around 12.30pm."

According to one eyewitness, the factory workers' strike had been going on for some time and a large number of people from the surrounding areas had joined the protest.

"Many people made strong statements during the protest. Meanwhile, one of the protesters said," Let's get rid of this issue. "

According to Yasir Raza,a local journalist in Sialkot, rumors have been circulating inside the factory since the morning. They are angry

According to Yasir Raza, reports of a major protest on Wazirabad Road were received at 11.12pm on Friday.

It was immediately reported that the factory manager had been fired. The incident was confirmed by local people as well as factory workers.

According to Yasir Raza, reports of riots and tensions had been circulating since morning but no precautionary measures had been taken. Similarly, over time, the number of protesters increased.But still, the situation was not handled. "