SIALKOT: The Punjab police on Wednesday arrested eight more of the main suspects involved in the lynching of Priyantha Kumara, 49-year-old Sri Lankan factory manager, in Sialkot over blasphemy allegations.

The police had arrested eight more primary suspects and produced them before the court, according to an update shared on the Punjab Police’s Twitter account.

“The alleged culprits were traced using CCTV footage and mobile phone data,” said the police.

پنجاب پولیس نے سانحہ سیالکوٹ میں CCTV فوٹیج اور کالز ڈیٹا کی مدد سے مزید 8مرکزی ملزمان کو گرفتارکرکے انسداد دہشت گردی عدالت میں آج پیش کیا ہےان میں پریانتھا کمارا کی نعش کی بے حرمتی کرنے والا ذاکر سلمان بھی شامل ہے جسے رات گرفتار کیا گیا
ابتک 34مرکزی ملزمان گرفتار ہیں!#Sialkot https://www.bolnews.com/pakistan/2021/12/sialkot-lynching-8-more-primary-suspects-arrested-and-produced-before-court/amp/ pic.twitter.com/OBmxfWskaT

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— Punjab Police Official (@OfficialDPRPP) December 8, 2021

Earlier in a Press release, Inspector General of Police Punjab Rao Sardar Ali Khan said that as per the direction of Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar, the investigation has been intensified with help of modern technology to arrest the suspects involved in the Sialkot tragedy.

The spokesperson of Punjab Police said that the main suspect involved in the Sialkot tragedy, Imtiaz alias Billi, has also been arrested.

According to the police, Imtiaz was involved in torturing and desecrating the corpse of the Sri Lankan factory manager. Police raided several places to arrest Imtiaz but he used to change his location from one place to another. Sialkot police arrested the suspect after tracing him with help of modern technology and human intelligence. The suspect was arrested from a bus bound to Rawalpindi.

Spokesperson of Punjab Police said that CM Buzdar and IG Punjab Rao Sardar Ali Khan are continuously monitoring the investigation of the case.

Earlier on Monday, the mortal remains of 49-year-old factory manager Priyantha Kumara of the Sialkot tragedy Priyantha Diyawadana reached Colombo.

Pakistan Acting High Commissioner Tanvir Ahmad and Press Secretary Kalsoom Qaiser received the mortal remains and conveyed the sympathies of the people and Government of Pakistan to the relatives of the deceased at the airport.

Also read: Govt decides to implement strategy to curb Sialkot-like incidents

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

The attack caused outrage, with Prime Minister Imran Khan calling it a “day of shame for Pakistan.”

According to the global news agency AFP, local police officials said that rumours spread that Diyawadana 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.