Security beefed up for foreign cricketers playing LPL

AFP: Sri Lanka will bolster security for international cricketers after a national of the country, factory manager Priyantha Kumara, was lynched and set ablaze by a mob in Sialkot over blasphemy allegations, an official said on Monday.

A dozen players from Pakistan are taking part in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) T20 competition, including veterans Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez.

An official from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) told AFP that extra precautions will be taken in light of Friday’s vigilante lynching, which has caused outrage across Sri Lanka.

“We have enhanced security across the board, not just for the Pakistani players,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A mob comprising hundreds of protestors, including the employees of the factory Kumara was the manager of, had tortured him to death and later burnt his body over blasphemy allegations.

A first information report was registered against 900 workers of Rajco Industries on the application of Uggoki Station House Officer (SHO) Armaghan Maqt under Sections 302, 297, 201, 427, 431, 157, 149 of the Pakistan Penal Code, and 7 and 11WW of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

More than 131 suspects have been arrested so far, including 26 who played a “central role” in the brutal killing.

The remains of the expat factory manager were repatriated to Colombo on Monday, and authorities in Sri Lanka have asked for the culprits to be punished for the “brutal and fatal attack”.

The five-team LPL began on Sunday and ends with a 23 December final.