Removal of ‘Stickers’ was only an excuse: Intelligence Report

Web Desk — The Punjab interagency on Saturday said the removal of a sticker, which contained religious writings on it, was used as an excuse to lynch a Sri Lankan manager who was later set on fire in Sialkot.

According to the Punjab interagency report submitted to Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, the apparent grudge was that of the manager being strict, and removing his sticker was used as an excuse to lynch him.

The provincial interagency had conducted its investigation into the ghastly killing of a Sri Lankan manager, identified as Priyantha Kumara, by a mob in Sialkot on Friday that shocked the country. The brutal killing drew widespread criticism from government officials, ambassadors, athletes, celebrities, and human rights organizations.

At the time the report was released, Sri Lanka’s president and prime minister expressed their hope that Pakistan’s Tehreek e Insaf-led government would punish all those involved in the murder.

Video of the horrific video shows that hundreds of people blocked the Wazirabad Road after torching the manager’s body. People took selfies in front of the body.

According to the interagency report, Priyantha has been the factory manager for 11 years and is considered a “tough manager” who is strict about discipline.

There had been no complaints from the factory owners about Priyantha’s performance, it noted, adding that some days earlier the manager had fired a few workers for disciplinary reasons.

“Priyantha asked factory workers to clean all machines around 11 am yesterday [Friday] before a delegation of international dignitaries arrived. According to the report, he also asked workers to remove the stickers from the machines.

The arrested workers claimed that the stickers had some “religious writings” on them and “the content of the sticker was contended upon.”

The article continued: “The apparent grudge stemmed from the manager being strict, and the removal of the stickers was only used as an excuse to lynch him.”

The agency further detailed the timeline of the incident, saying the factory owners had left the premises at the time of the incident. It read, “They [factory owners] could have stopped it all from the start.”.