LAHORE: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Monday sentenced six suspects to death for their involvement in the murder of the Sri Lankan factory manager Priyantha Kumara at a factory in Sialkot.
A total of 89 men were indicted in the murder case, of which nine are minors. The court announced the verdict in the high-profile murder case and awarded life imprisonment to seven, while 76 convicts have been awarded two years of jail time.
Last year, a brutal mob beat to death and set alight 48-year-old Sri Lankan citizen and factory manager Priyantha Kumara in Punjab’s city of Sialkot. The incident led to outrage and then prime minister Imran Khan had condemned the vigilante violence and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The anti-terrorism court completed the trial of the case in Kot Lakhpat Jail presided over by judge Natasha Naseem. Both the prosecution and the defence had concluded their arguments in the case heard on a daily basis.
The statements of the investigation officers and eyewitnesses had also been recorded. The prosecution had brought to court 46 eyewitnesses. It submitted as evidence the CCTV footage of 10 cameras installed at the site of the murder and videos taken from the mobile phones of 55 accused men. The investigation and trial were completed by a five-member team headed by public prosecutor Abdul Rauf Wattoo.
