Priyantha Kumara lynching: Punjab govt decides to conduct trial in Lahore jail

LAHORE: Punjab government has notified to shift the trial of Priyantha Kumara lynching case to the Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore with a special prosecution team designated to plead the case against multiple suspects from a Sialkot factory.

According to a notification issued from the provincial government, the case trial will now be held inside the Kot Lakhpat Jail owing to its sensitivity after being transferred from Sialkot.

A three-member special prosecution team headed by Abdul Rauf Watto will proceed with the case and has been directed to submit a progress report on the case on regular basis to prosecutor general Punjab.

The sources in the prosecution department shared the development came after the case has entered into final phases.

It is pertinent to mention here that the first conviction in the Priyantha Kumara lynching case has come from the anti-terrorism court (ATC) where a suspect has been awarded one-year imprisonment.

According to details, the suspect identified as Adnan justified the lynching of Priyantha Kumara at the Sialkot factory on social media and later confessed to his crime before the court.

A case was registered against him at Rang Pura police station in Sialkot under charges of collaboration in a crime.

The ATC judge while announcing the verdict awarded him one year of imprisonment besides also imposing a fine of Rs10,000.

Priyantha Kumara murder 

Priyantha Kumara, a 49-year-old Sri Lankan national, was lynched by a mob at a factory in Sialkot on December 3, where he worked as manager.

A first information report (FIR) was registered against hundreds of unidentified men, including workers of the factory. Scores have since been arrested and are facing investigation.

The Punjab government and the prosecution team in December decided to conduct the jail trial of the high-profile case due to security concerns.