A death convict on Monday approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) against his conviction in Priyantha Kumara case.
In an appeal, the convict, Hafiz Taimoor, submitted that the prosecution failed to prove charges on the basis of evidence against him.
The convict submitted that he was accused of killing the Sri Lankan national with a brick but the forensic report ruled out brick as a cause of Priyantha Kumara’s death.
He submitted that the evidence of eye witnesses also did not fulfill the legal requirements whereas the murder of Priyantha Kumara was not pre-planned but an accidental incident. He submitted that despite unavailability of solid evidence, the trial court handed down death penalty on two counts to him besides ordering to pay Rs 200,000 compensation. The appellant had asked the LHC to set aside the trial court verdict and acquit him.
On April 19, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) convicted 88 accused in Priyantha Kumara case. The court had awarded death sentences to six accused, life imprisonment to nine accused, two years imprisonment to 72 accused and five years imprisonment to one accused. A mob in Sialkot tortured Sri Lankan Don Priyantha Kumara, who was working as a general manager at a local factory, to death over blasphemy allegations on December 3, 2021. Police Station Uggoki, Sialkot, had registered the FIR.
