Lynching of Priyantha Kumara

Priyantha Kumara Diyawadana was a 49 year old^[2] Sri Lankan man who was lynched by a mob on 3 December 2021 in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan^[3] over allegations of blasphemy.^[4] Supporters of the radical Sunni Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) were believed to be responsible for the killing of Kumara, while the TLP officially distanced itself from the incident.^[5]

Kumara, who was a Buddhist by faith^[6] and had lived and worked in Pakistan for eleven years,^[7] was beaten, killed and later set on fire by a mob in Sialkot. He had been accused of blasphemy for removing a poster featuring religious content. It was later revealed that Kumara had removed the poster due to pending renovation work in the building, and was wrongly accused of blasphemy by workers of the factory.^[8] Several videos started to circulate on social media where hundreds of men can be seen gathered at the site, chanting slogans of the TLP.^[9]

Biography[]

Diyawadanage Don Nandasiri Priyantha Kumara^[2] was a resident of Ganemulla, Gampaha District, Sri Lanka. He was the youngest of six siblings.^[10] He graduated from the University of Peradeniya in 2002 as a production engineer and had been working in Pakistan since 2010. He had worked for the Rajco Sporting Goods Manufacturing Company in Sialkot since 2012, progressing from an engineering role to a manager role. At the time of his murder, he was the General Superintendent (General Manager) at the Rajco Industries garment factory in Sialkot. He was married to Nilushi Dissanayaka and the father of two sons, aged 14 and 9 years (as of 2021).^[11][12][10] Two of his brothers were also working in Pakistan at the time, as employees of a textile factory in Faisalabad, Punjab.^[10]

Incident[]

Background[]

The Government of Pakistan had earlier banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, declaring it a militant organization after several run-ins with the state but later decided to lift the ban after signing an agreement with the organisation in November 2021 amid violent protests.^{[13] [14][9][15]}

Mob and murder[]

According to Rao Sardar Ali Khan, Inspector General of Police of the Punjab Police, a mob of 800 men gathered at the Rajco factory at 10:00 on 3 December 2021 after it was reported that Kumara had torn a poster inscribed with Islamic verses and that constituted blasphemy. The mob searched for Kumara, finding him on the roof of the factory. They had dragged him while beating him severely, he was dead by 11:28 and his body was set on fire by the mob on the Wazirabad Road.^[16]

Investigation and arrests[]

Farhan Idrees was identified as the main culprit who was one of the masterminds involved in the incident and over 100 individuals were arrested by the police. It was revealed that all of them who were arrested had link with TLP.^[17] Kumara's body was flown through Sri Lankan Airlines and arrived in Sri Lanka on 6 December 2021.^[2]

A postmortem carried out by the Pakistani authorities indicated skull and jaw fractures as the cause of death. All his vital organs had been affected, while torture marks were visible all over his body. His spinal cord was broken in three locations. All his bones were broken other than in one foot. 99 per cent of his body was burned.^[16]

Reactions[]

Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan expressed his disbelief and anger in a tweet saying “The horrific vigilante attack on a factory in Sialkot and the burning alive of a Sri Lankan manager is a day of shame for Pakistan. I am overseeing the investigations and let there be no mistakes, all those responsible will be punished with the full severity of the law. Arrests are being made”.^[18] The incident was met with shock in Pakistan, with condemnations pouring in from political representatives, civil society groups and religious leaders.^[10]

Pakistan's Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, while reacting to the incident, provoked controversy when he said "murders take place when young people get emotional".^[19] Later, he issued a clarification stating he "vehemently condemned" the incident and that his earlier remarks were in response to a question whether the lynching was a consequence of the government allowing too much leeway to the TLP in the country as a result of a "deal".^[20]

On 4 December, both the Government of Sri Lanka and the opposition party condemned the incident and urged immediate action to punish the perpetrators.^[21] The Parliament of Sri Lanka urged the authorities in Pakistan to ensure the rights of the Sri Lankan expat workers in Pakistan be safeguarded.^[22] On 6 December, Kumara's remains were repatriated with state honours from Lahore to Colombo via a Sri Lankan Airlines flight.^[23]

Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan, Vice Admiral Mohan Wijewickrama assured that the incident will have no effect on relations between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, noting the close social, defence, and commerce ties between the two countries.^[24]

Following an appeal for compensation by Kumara's widow, Sri Lanka's Cabinet of Ministers approved a grant of Rs 2.5 million (US$12,322) to the family of Kumara to be paid from the Employees' Welfare Fund of the Bureau of Foreign Employment considering his contribution as a migrant worker.^[25][26]

In Islamabad, a condolence event was held at the Prime Minister's Office to honour Kumara. While addressing the occasion, Imran Khan announced a civil award for Malik Adnan, a colleague who tried to save Kumara's life from the mob, and reiterated that "as long as I am alive, I will not allow incidents like the Sialkot lynching to happen again".^[27][28] The business community of Sialkot raised USD $100,000 for Kumara's family, and also announced that his widow would continue to receive his monthly salary.^[27][28]

See also[]

• List of blasphemy cases in Pakistan

Reference[]