Adnan Malik who tried to save a Sri Lankan from an angry mob last year is set to leave the country after facing serious threats

Lahore: A Pakistani citizen who was bestowed with a gallantry award by the government for risking his life to save the Sri Lankan factory manager Priyantha Kumara from an angry mob in Sialkot last year, has decided to leave the country after receiving life threats.

In the unfortunate incident that took place on December 3, 2021, an angry mob of over 800 men had attacked a garment factory and lynched its 47-year-old general manager Kumara over the allegations of blasphemy.

Adnan Malik, a resident of the Malik community of Olkh Jatan and deputy manager of the factory, valiantly tried to save Priyantha Kumara from the angry mob but in vain. His brave effort was later recognized and praised by the Government of Pakistan and Adnan was awarded the Medal of Honor by former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The Police later arrested more than 100 accused in the case while hundreds of others were interrogated. Consequently, on April 2021, an anti-terrorism court sentenced six of the accused to death while awarding life imprisonment to nine others in the ghastly incident that had sent a wave of terror across the country. The majority of the accused, who were sentenced in the case, later filed appeals in the High Court.

“I have quit my job two months ago after having received so many threats and am now preparing to go abroad,” said Adnan while speaking to Bol News.

“The efficient manner in which the government and the security institutions became active after the lynching incident was a pleasant surprise indeed for the people of the area. However, with the passage of time, everything became normal as if nothing had happened.

“Some of my fellow workers continue to feel bad about the incident but are not ready to speak against it.” He pointed out that he had been receiving constant threats since the incident and many employees looked at him rather strangely, making him uncomfortable.

“Eventually, I had to quit my job two months ago and am now preparing to go abroad.

He lamented that after the money he received from the Prime Minister along with the Tamgh-e-Shujaat (medal of bravery), no one ever bothered to ask him in what condition he was living in.

Malik Adnan disclosed that Priyantha Kumara’s elder brother is working in the deceased’s position in the same factory now.

He emphasized that proper security measures should be taken to prevent any such incidents in the future.

Recalling the dreadful incident, Adnan said: “I was informed of the attack on Priyantha while I was in a meeting. When I rushed to the scene, I saw 40 to 50 men lunging towards him.”

“On seeing the angry mob, I raced to rescue Priyantha from them, but I suffered injuries on my head and face before I got to him.”

Malik said he was also beaten up when he tried to shield the Sri Lankan man from the mob.

“Workers from the adjacent factory and locals broke in and joined the mob. I begged all of them to spare his life but they didn’t listen to his plea and kept on beating him with brutal force,” he recalled.

“I felt really sad and sorry for not being able to save Priyantha who was a very honest and dutiful worker.”

On the other hand, the Sialkot Police denied that any threats are being given to any person linked with Kumara’s murder case and added that the situation has already returned to normal after the accused have been punished.

The spokesperson of Sialkot Police, Khurram Shahzad, said the factory incident was a very sensitive and tough case and an uphill task for the police. “But we used all the available resources and interrogated hundreds of suspects and completed the entire case in five months.”

According to Khurram, with the help of cameras, videos and geo-fencing technology, the police succeeded in catching the real culprits. “Besides, everyone was punished by the court according to the extent of his crime.”

After this incident, the factory owners and supervisors were instructed to inform the police at once if they sensed that any such situations could arise in the future and they should also persuade people to take the help of the law enforcement agencies instead of taking the law into their own hands.

Apart from Malik Adnan, there were many other witnesses in the Priyantha murder case who have complained of receiving threats.

Deputy District Prosecutor Sialkot Zahid Mund said when the arrests and investigation of the accused started, the relatives of some of the accused hurled threats at the witnesses and they got extremely scared and worried.

“At that time, solid security was provided to the witnesses, but later it was removed. One witness shifted to another place after receiving threats and has not returned yet. His testimony could not be recorded,” said DPO Sialkot

According to Zahid Mund, he also received threatening letters and calls.

“The brother of one of the accused people was an absconder and he threatened a number of witnesses. I also filed a case. I was provided security at that time but it was removed as soon as the case was decided,” he added.

He further said that many witnesses did not testify because of fear. The prosecution faced immense difficulty in convincing the witnesses to testify in the court.

The incident sparked outrage across Pakistan with all sections of the society condemning it and calling for the culprits to be given exemplary punishment. The local business community later donated $100,000 to Priyantha’s wife while the factory owner also confirmed that the deceased’s salary of $1,650 is regularly being given to his family every month.

It may be mentioned here that on April 18, 2021, an anti-terrorism court in Lahore awarded death sentence to six and handed life imprisonment to nine among the accused in the Priyantha murder case after completing the jail trial of the accused.

Factory manager Malik Adnan, who tried to save the Sri Lankan citizen, had also recorded his statement.

Seventy-two others nominated in the case were given two years of jail sentence each, one person was given a sentence of five years while another was acquitted.

A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against 900 workers of Rajco Industries on the application of Uggoki Station House Officer Armaghan Maqt under sections 302, 297, 201, 427, 431, 157, 149 of the Pakistan Penal Code and 7 and 11WW of the Anti-Terrorism Act. Scores of suspects were arrested in the following days.

The prosecution team later presented a total of 43 witnesses in order to prove the crime against thesuspects. The forensic, audio and video evidence was also used to prove the crime.

“In less than a month, the prosecution completed the testimonies of witnesses. After that, the court gave them a full chance to defend themselves.

The ATC had indicted 89 individuals on March 12. According to the challan submitted by the police, 80 of the accused are adults while nine of them are minors.

Judge Natasha Naseem had conducted the trial in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail.

According to the challan, videos, digital evidence, DNA evidence, forensic evidence, eyewitnesses, including Adnan were made part of the investigation.

It stated that footage from 10 digital video recorders in the factory was sent for forensic analysis, while the accused were traced via videos from social media and footage recovered from the mobile phones of 55 accused.

The death sentence handed down to six suspects in the lynching and burning of the Sri Lankan citizen by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) would take time to execute, as the accused cannot be hanged until their capital punishment is confirmed by the Lahore High Court (LHC).

Shamim-ur-Rehman Malik, one of the country’s top criminal lawyers, stated that legally, the death sentence given by a sessions court is considered to be a suspended one and the LHC’s confirmation is mandatory under the country’s law.

Section 374 of Code of Criminal procedure 1898 states: “When the Court of Session passes a sentence of death, the proceedings shall be submitted to the High Court and the sentence shall not be executed unless it is confirmed by the two member bench of the High Court.”