Nearly 800 people arrested for killing Sri Lankan man in Pakistan: Reports

After the Pakistan's Prime Minister ordered probe into Sri Lankan man’s death, nearly 800 people have been booked under theAnti-Terrorism Act on Saturday.

Farhan Idrees has been detained as the key suspect for killing the Sri Lankan manPriyantha Kumara.

A few days ago, a Sri Lankan factory manager was beaten to death and was set ablaze by a local mob in Pakistan who accused him of blasphemy. Imran Khan ordered immediate probe in this matter as he labelled it a "day of shame for Pakistan".

Add WION as a Preferred Source

"The horrific vigilante attack on a factory in Sialkot & the burning alive of a Sri Lankan manager is a day of shame for Pakistan. I am overseeing the investigations & let there be no mistake, all those responsible will be punished with full severity of the law. Arrests are in progress," Khan had tweeted.

As per the report submitted to the Prime Minister, the local police have detained nearly 120 people for the incident that took place in Sialkot, Pakistan. Officials have reported that the manager of the factory, who was a Sri Lankan, was killed as locals believed that he had committed blasphemy.

They have been moved to unnamed locations to make sure the investigations can be carried out independently and safely.

WATCH |

"Rumour spread in the factory that the manager had torn down a religious poster and thrown it in the dustbin," Zulfiqar Ali, a police official in the area told news agency AFP.

It is being believed that the workers of the factory had complained about the manager being too strict. So, some of the employees played the religious card to take their revenge, which ultimately led to the man’s death.

"Police experts are investigating this case from various angles, including that some factory workers played a religious card to take revenge on the manager," Ashrafi said.

Local officials are still continuing raids to make sure all guilty in this matter are caught and punished.

Video clips on social media platforms showed the Sri Lankan man being beaten and set ablaze, while the mob chanted slogans against blasphemy. Some people also, reportedly, took selfies inn front of the burning corpse of the Sri Lankan man.

Sri Lankan parliament also condemned the incident as the education minister Dinesh Gunawardena told Parliament,"We are glad that the Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had very strongly condemned this brutal act."