Lynching of Priyantha Kumara

Diyawadanage Don Nandasiri Priyantha Kumara was a 49-year-old Sri Lankan manager who was lynched by supporters of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) on 3 December 2021 in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan, over allegations of blasphemy. TLP later officially distanced itself from the incident.

The Anti-Terrorism Court in Lahore later gave the death sentence to six who were involved in the lynching while nine others received life sentences. An additional 72 people were also sentenced to two years in prison.

Kumara, who was an ethnic Sinhalese and a Buddhist by faith and had lived and worked in Pakistan for eleven years, was beaten, killed and later set on fire by a mob in Sialkot. He had been accused of blasphemy for removing a poster featuring religious content. It was later revealed that Kumara had removed the poster due to pending renovation work in the building, and was falsely accused of blasphemy by workers of the factory. Several videos started to circulate on social media where hundreds of men can be seen gathered at the site, chanting slogans of the TLP. He was employed by the Rajco Sporting Goods Manufacturing Company, and this company was later selected as the official manufacturer of the official kits for the Pakistani national cricket team in 2023 Cricket World Cup.