A Gujranwala anti-terrorism court on Monday extended the remand of 85 suspects for 14 days in the Sialkot lynching case in which Sri Lankan national Priyantha Kumara, a factory manager, was beaten to death over blasphemy charges and his body set to fire, reported Aaj News.

The judge ordered to present the suspects again in the court on January 17 and directed the police to complete the investigation by the next hearing.

The suspects were presented in the court amid high security.

Politicians, religious scholars and people across the country were equally shocked when on December 3, 2021 Kumara was lynched to death over blasphemy charges. One of the factory managers, Malik Adnan, tried to save the victims. However, his efforts did not materialize before the violent and charged mob. Later Kumara's body set to fire.

Reports emerged that factory workers disliked Kumara, who was a textile engineer, as he was a strict manager and he enforced discipline at the work place.

A first information report (FIR) was registered against hundreds of unidentified men, including workers of the factory. Scores have since been arrested and are facing investigation.

The Punjab government and the prosecution team in December decided to conduct the jail trial of the high-profile case due to security concerns.

After the incident, Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke with Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and assured him the culprits would be "prosecuted with full severity of the law".