Body of Sri Lankan manager flown back to Colombo with official protocol

LAHORE: The remains of Sri Lankan factory manager Priyantha Kumara — who was lynched by a mob in Sialkot over allegations of blasphemy — have been sent off to Colombo with full official protocol on Monday.

On the special directions of Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, provincial minister Ejaz Alam arrived at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore and participated in the process of his body’s departure.

Punjab police arrest seven more suspects

Meanwhile, seven more suspects involved in the lynching of Priyantha were arrested, the police said.

So far, a total of 132 suspects have been arrested in connection with the Sialkot lynching case.

A statement issued by the Punjab police spokesperson said that arrested suspects Sikandar, Rashid, Ahmed Shehzad, Zohaib, Muhammad Irshad, Subhan and Umair Ali, were part of the mob that brutally murdered Priyantha.

In particular, Sikandar kept gathering people on the factory's rooftop and inciting the attack, Shehzad was armed with a stick and Zohaib was involved in planning to provoke others for violence, the spokesperson said.

He said that the latest arrests have been made with the help of CCTV camera videos and mobile phone data. Interrogation of the arrested suspects has started, he added.

Speaking about the progress in investigations of the case, 26 suspects were found to have played a key role in the gruesome murder.

He said that CM Buzdar and the Punjab inspector-general of police are continuously monitoring the investigations and the process of the identification of arrested suspects is underway.

Police obtain 15-day remand of 26 suspects

On Monday, an anti-terrorism court in Gujranwala has handed over 26 suspects involved in the lynching case to the police on a 15-day physical remand. The court directed the police officials to ensure the suspects appearance on December 21.