Swara Bhasker weighs in on lynching of Sri Lankan man in Sialkot

Indian actor Swara Bhasker is the latest in a line of celebrities taking to social media to condemn the brutal lynching of a man of Sri Lankan origin in a factory located in Sialkot over alleged blasphemy.

The actor took to Twitter to share a news article detailing the incident, writing, “Absolutely sickening and gut-wrenching  the madness, brutality and monstrosity humans unleash in the name of Gods and religion. Horrendous!”

Priyantha Kumara, a Sri Lankan national was brutally lynched and his body set on fire by workers of private factories on Sialkot’s Wazirabad Road on Friday.

Several Pakistani celebrities took to Twitter after the incident to highlight the county’s rising radicalisation and fascism, with Mehwish Hayat writing, “Words fail me. We as a nation need to hold our heads in shame. Do we really want to live in a country where mob rule is the norm and not the exception? We look to Imran Khan for swift action to stop this now.”

A police official told The Express Tribune at the crime scene that Kumara was the operational manager at the factory for the past seven years. He was accused by the factory workers of “tearing down the Durood Sharif.”

Several gruesome video clips have since been shared on social media, in which the mob can be seen beating the victim while chanting slogans against blasphemy.