Punjab govt decides to conduct trial of Sialkot accused in prison

The provincial government of Punjab decided on Saturday to hold the trial of the accused in the Sialkot lynching case within prison premises.

The decision to hold the trial inside the prison was reached after a meeting of the prosecution team and the Punjab government. The prosecution also asked the jail administration to make the necessary arrangements to conduct the trial.

Police have also been directed to complete the necessary legal procedures and submit the completed challans to the court as soon as possible. 

Regional Police Officer (RPO) told that official documents to carry out jail trials of the arrested suspects have been issued. Judge of Anti-Terrorism Court’s (ATC) special court will head the proceedings in the jail, he added.

The nation was shell-shocked and disgusted when a Sri Lankan national, Priyantha Kumara, was brutally lynched and his body set on fire by a mob in Sialkot last week.

The sickening incident outraged the nation as the civil and military leaders of Pakistan denounced it as “horrific”, “shameful” and “extra-judicial vigilantism”.

The Punjab Police on Wednesday arrested eight more accused for their primary role in the Sialkot lynching tragedy.

Recent arrests came after the law enforcement officials traced the culprits via CCTV footage and cellular data.

Among the arrests made by the police was also Imtiaz alias Billi, who was involved in torturing Kumara and desecrating his body. He was arrested from a bus bound for Rawalpindi.

The top military brass has also vowed to show “zero tolerance” to incidents such as the lynching of the foreign national, saying “extremism and terrorism will not be tolerated”.

Source: The Express Tribune

--Agencies