Wife of Sri Lankan man refutes blasphemy claim, demands justice for husband, kids

Pakistani authorities claim to have arrested more than 100 people after a Sri Lankan factory manager was beaten to death and set ablaze by a mob who accused him of blasphemy.

The vigilante attack caused outrage, with Prime Minister Imran Khan calling it a “day of shame for Pakistan” and later saying he had spoken to the Sri Lanka president about the killing.

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The incident took place on December 3 in Sialkot. Priyantha Kumara, 48, a factory manager working in the city, was beaten to death and his body set alight.

Image: AFP

Local police officials told AFP that rumours spread that Kumara had “torn down a religious poster and thrown it in the dustbin” and that up to 120 people had been arrested, including one of the main accused.

However, his wife, Nilushi, has refuted the blasphemy claim.

“I totally reject reports that said my husband tore down posters in the factory. He was an innocent man,” she told the BBC.

“He was very much aware of the living conditions in Pakistan. It is a Muslim country. He knew what he should not do there, and that’s how he managed to work there for eleven years.”

The BBC report also quoted a colleague, who rushed to the site to save him, having told the Associated Press of Pakistan that Kumara had only removed the posters as the building was about to be cleaned.

Image: AFP

Nilushi called on both Pakistan and Sri Lanka’s governments to conduct a full investigation to “bring justice to my husband and my two children”.

“I saw that he was being attacked on the internet… it was so inhumane,” she told the BBC.

Pakistani nation, almost all the political and religious parties condemned the incident, including Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Sri Lankan president and prime minister on Saturday also expressed shock over the killing, asking Pakistan to punish all those involved in the “brutal and fatal attack”.

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Meanwhile, PM Imran on Sunday announced Tamgha-i-Shujaat (Medal of Bravery) for Malik Adnan, a colleague of Kumara, for trying to save the Sri Lankan factory manager.