Human Interest

Sri Lanka buries man lynched in Pakistan over alleged blasphemy

Colombo, Dec 8 (EFE).- A Sri Lankan factory manager who was lynched by a mob in Pakistan was on Wednesday buried in a public cemetery in his hometown.

Forty-eight years old Diyawadanage Don Nandasiri Priyantha Kumara was killed on Friday in Pakistan’s northeastern city of Sialkot over alleged blasphemy.  His remains were flown to Sri Lanka on Monday and handed over to his family.

“My husband was an innocent man. He always helped people who are in need. He gave me strength to be there for others too,” his wife Nilushi Dissanayake told EFE.

Kumara had also worked in Tanzania before going to Pakistan and his wife said that he read about cultures and lifestyle of the people in the countries where he worked.

“He had a good understanding of where he lived. He would not disrespect a religion,” she said.

Kumara’s neighbor W Jayanthi also told EFE that she was at a loss to understand how this could have happened to him.

“He was a very peaceful person, a man who did not hurt anyone,” she said.

Kumara’s remains were buried in the public cemetery in Kendaliadda, a small village near Ganemulla in the country’s Western Province, in the presence of hundreds of people, including religious leaders.

Special statements by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa were read out following the burial.

Speaking at the funeral, residents of the town described how the manager had set up the town’s first library and that he was always ready to help others.

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