A new video of the barbaric Sialkot lynching incident in Pakistan has surfaced showing that a colleague had tried to save the Sri Lankan manager from the Islamist mob that was baying for his blood. The incident took place on Wazirabad Road in Sialkot on Friday. The Sri Lankan, identified as Priyantha Kumara Diyawadanage, was a senior manager at a leading Sialkot factory that manufactures and exports sports products.

A swelling fanatical mob of hundreds assualted, kicked and stoned him to death and then burnt his body in public allegedly over allegations of blasphemy. Police said they have arrested 100 suspects.

The newly-released footage obtained by Dawn shows a colleague trying to protect Diyawadanage on the roof of the factory where he had fled while the mob of around two dozen people slowly grew in number. The mob could be heard chanting slogans and saying "he (the manager) will not escape today," while the colleague helplessly tried to shield Diyawadanage with his body, who clung to the man's legs.

However, the mob overpowered the colleague and dragged Diyawadanage out on the road. He was then beaten with kicks, stones and iron rods, killing him on the spot. His body was then set ablaze. 

The Sri Lankan allegedly tore up a poster of the hardline Islamist party, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in which Quranic verses were inscribed and threw it in the dustbin.
The poster of the Islamist party was pasted on a wall adjoining his office. Some factory workers saw him removing the poster and spreading the word.

Rumours of blasphemy spread among the factory workers and they first came out of the installation to protest on the road. The mob then re-entered the factory and tortured the victim, beating him to death, Dawn said. 

Condemning the incident, Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) President Mian Imran Akbar said in a statement, “Studying the details of the case, it was found that Priyantha was a thorough professional known for his stern production standards and that the personal vendetta on part of some laborers in the garb of alleged religious tilt led to the lynching and torching”.

“December 3 would go down as a dark day in the history of the bustling city…there was no place for fanaticism and violence in the society and that the miscreants involved in such wicked acts did not belong to any religion, caste, creed," he was quoted by UNI news agency as saying. 

Sialkot is famous for exporting sports goods, musical instruments and leather products. And Wazirabad Road is home to a plethora of marriage halls, mosques, schools and stores.  The area surrounding the road is one of the busiest and densely populated areas of Sialkot. 

Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke with Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa over phone to convey his nation’s “anger and shame” over the lynching. Imran Khan in a tweet said: “Spoke to Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa today in UAE to convey our nation's anger & shame to people of Sri Lanka at vigilante killing of Priyantha Diyawadana in Sialkot.

“I informed him 100+ ppl arrested & assured him they would be prosecuted with full severity of the law.”

Detailing the sequence of the events that led to the incident, Inspector General of Police Rao Sardar Ali Khan said: "The policemen had to walk for 15 minutes to reach the crime site. When they got there, the Sri Lankan national's body was on fire."

He said the entire incident took place inside the factory premises. "After the torture, the mob dragged the body of the victim out to the main Wazirabad Road and then set it on fire." (SAM)