Police arrest seven more suspects in Sialkot lynching case

LAHORE: Punjab Police on Monday arrested seven more suspects involved in the lynching of a Sri Lankan national in Sialkot, Bol news channel reported.

On the directives of Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, the police continued raids and arrested six more suspects during the past 13 hours after identifying them through videos and mobile calls data.

The police said the seven arrested people included the ones involved in planning the attack, torturing and inciting others in the incident.

Read more: Scores arrested in Sialkot lynching case

They said so far 131 suspects have been arrested with the help of modern technology.

Punjab Police spokesperson said Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Inspector General Rao Sardar Khan were continuously overseeing the investigation.

Usman Buzdar had handed the task of prosecution of the case to the secretary prosecution, he maintained. He said the process of identification of the suspects involved in inciting and torturing was underway.

On December 4, Punjab Chief Minister’s Special Assistant for Information Hassan Khawar had said that police had conducted 200 raids and arrested 118 accused including 13 prime suspects for lynching and burning the body of a Sri Lankan national over alleged blasphemy.

Read more: Religious clerics, scholars condemn Sialkot lynching attack

In a press conference along with IG Police Rao Sardar Ali Khan, he had said that the police had obtained footages of 160 CCTV cameras while additional video and data sources such as mobile data and call records would also be reviewed.