Sialkot lynching case: Police remand of 85 suspects extended

GUJRANWALA: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday extended the physical remand of as many as 85 suspects in the Sialkot lynching case.

Amidst tight security, police produced the suspects before the court after the completion of their earlier remand. The investigation officer (IO) of the case pleaded with the court to extend their remand for further investigation.

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The court, accepting the IO’s plea, extended the physical remand of the suspects by 14 more days and directed him to present them on next hearing on Jan 17.

The ATC judge directed the investigation officer to immediately complete his investigation into the case and submit the final case charge-sheet.

Priyantha Kumara, a 49-year-old Sri Lankan national, was lynched by a mob of workers at a factory on December 3, where he was working as manager. A first information report (FIR) was registered against hundreds of unidentified men, including workers of the factory.

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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.

The decision was reached during a meeting of government officials and the prosecution team to ensure law and order situation and avoid any untoward incident.

The jail management has been instructed to make all the arrangements for the jail trial.