LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court on Thursday recorded statements of nine more prosecution witnesses during a jail trial in case of lynching of Sri Lankan factory manager in Sialkot over ‘blasphemy’ allegations.

       ATC judge Natasha Naseem is holding the trial proceedings in the central jail Kot Lakhpat on a day-to-day basis.

       So far 32 out of 40 prosecution witnesses have recorded their statements.

       The judge will record statements of more witnesses on Friday (today).

       The victim, 49-year-old Priyantha Kumara, was tortured to death and his body was set on fire in December last by furious workers of the Rajco Industries garments factory, where he was a manager.

       The prosecution in its challan included 40 witnesses besides videos, digital evidence, DNA and forensic evidence. The witnesses also include Mr Kumara’s colleague who tried his best to save him from the mob.

       Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2022