In Sialkot, more suspects were arrested in connection with the brutal killing of a Sri Lankan manager by factory workers, while a video of a colleague trying to save the life of a foreign national came to light.
In the footage obtained by News, it can be seen how the production manager is trying to save the foreign manager Priyantha Kumara by placing John on the palm of his hand during the attack.
When the foreign manager was attacked by the factory workers, the production manager put him on the roof and closed the door.
However, 20 to 25 enraged people broke down the door and attacked. The production manager kept asking them to hand over the foreigner to the police if he had done anything.
The angry mob beat up the production manager and took away Priyantha Kumara.
In the video, some people can be heard chanting slogans and saying, "This (manager) will not survive today."
More arrests
In Sialkot, 118 people were arrested, including 13 main culprits involved in the brutal killing of a Sri Lankan manager by factory workers.
On Friday night, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) and Deputy Police Officer (DPO) of Sialkot briefed the provincial officials about the details of the incident through a video link.
He claimed that the victim was known as a strict administrator, about 110 accused involved in the incident have been arrested while raids are being carried out to arrest others.
In his statement, IG Punjab had claimed that two main accused Farhan Idrees and Usman Rashid were also among the arrested accused.
On Saturday, Punjab Chief Minister's Special Assistant for Information Hassan Khawar said the number of arrested accused was 118 and said that 200 raids were carried out while 13 main accused were also among the arrested accused.
In a press conference with IG Police Rao Sardar Ali Khan, he said that the police had obtained footage from 160 CCTV cameras while additional video and data sources such as mobile data and call records would also be reviewed.
"Significant progress has been made in the investigation and the investigation is still ongoing," he said.
He said the remains would be handed over to the Sri Lankan embassy through the interior and foreign ministries.
Hassan Khawar said, "I assure you that not only justice will be done but it will also be done. No one will get any concession and if the authorities commit negligence, action will be taken against them."
Explaining the details of the incident, the IG Punjab said that according to the information received so far, the incident started at 10:02 am on Friday and turned into violence and killing at around 10:45 am, resulting in 11 deaths. Priyantha Kumara's death occurred at 5 o'clock.
He said police received a report of the incident at 11:28 a.m. and arrived at the scene at 11:45 p.m.
He said that the challan of the incident would be submitted to the anti-terrorism court soon so that the accused could be brought to justice.
Heartbreaking event
It may be recalled that a mob in Sialkot had brutally killed the manager of a local factory in Sialkot yesterday, accusing him of blasphemy and setting his body on fire.
Sialkot District Police Officer (DPO) Omar Saeed Malik said the victim was identified as Priyantha Kumara.
Sialkot police chief Armaghan Gondal told the foreign news agency AP that factory workers had accused the victim of desecrating a poster bearing the name of the Prophet of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa.
A few hours after the incident in Sialkot, Special Assistant to the Punjab Chief Minister Hassan and IG Punjab Rao Sardar Ali Khan held a press conference and Special Representative for Religious Affairs Hafiz Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi condemned the incident on behalf of the Ulema.
"I condemn this atrocity on behalf of the Pakistani nation, scholars of all schools of thought, shaykhs and believers of all religions," he said.
Later, the Punjab Police said in a statement on Twitter that "in the Sialkot incident, the police have arrested Farhan Idrees, one of the main accused involved in torture and incitement."
"More than 100 people have been arrested, IG Punjab is overseeing the whole affair, raids are being carried out to nab the other accused," police said.
On the other hand, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it expects the Pakistani authorities to take necessary action to ensure investigation and justice.
The Sri Lankan High Commission in Islamabad is in touch with Pakistani authorities to verify the details of the incident, Sri Lankan media outlet NewsFirst quoted Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sogishwara Gunaratna as saying.
Prime Minister Imran Khan strongly condemned the incident and wrote in a tweet that "the horrific attack on the factory in Sialkot and the burning alive of the Sri Lankan manager is a shameful day for Pakistan".
"I am overseeing the investigation and no effort will be spared to bring all those responsible to justice," he said.
