Sialkot lynching: ATC awards death sentence to six in Priyantha Kumara murder case

An anti-terrorism court on Monday awarded the death sentence to six and handed life imprisonment to nine in the Sri Lankan citizen Priyantha Kumara's lynching case.

Seventy-two others nominated in the case were given two years of jail sentence each, while one was acquitted.

Last month, an anti-terrorism court had indicted 89 suspects, including nine juveniles in Kumara’s lynching case in Kot Lakhpat Jail.

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"The prosecution team presented a total of 43 witnesses in order to prove the crime against suspects," Punjab Prosecution Department Secretary Nadeem Sarwar said in a press conference.

"In less than a month, the prosecution completed the testimonies of witnesses. After that, the court gave them full chance to defend themselves. Today, the ATC Gujranwala, upon the crime being proven, has punished 88 accused while one has been acquitted.

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"This is a very good day as the law punished those who took away an innocent life. It is now hoped that the elements spreading religious extremism will be dealt in the same manner."

Earlier, the prosecution had submitted a supplementary challan that included 40 witnesses, video, digital and medical evidence.

The witnesses also included the factory manager who had tried his best to save Priyantha from the angry mob.

In December last year, a mob of people described as “employees” of a garment factory in Sialkot had tortured and killed their Sri Lankan manager on factory premises and set his body on fire over blasphemy accusations.

Video footage that went viral on social media showed that the mob first brutally beat up the foreign national inside the factory and then dragged his corpse on the road and set it on fire.

After the tragic incident, the prosecutor general of Punjab had constituted a special prosecution team to ensure a swift trial.