The Maharashtra government on Sunday ordered a high-level investigation into the Palghar mob lynching incident, in which three people were killed on Thursday night, even as another man was lynched on Friday night in Dahanu by a mob of 17 in the third such incident in the area within a week.
The Palghar incident, which led to an uproar on Sunday as the video went viral, occurred when three men from Kandivli in Mumbai were heading towards Gujarat’s Surat in a car to attend a funeral on Thursday night. They had taken an internal road, as all major roads are shut owing to the lockdown. Their vehicle was stopped in Palghar district. The trio – Chikne Maharaj Kalpavrukshagiri, 70, Sushilgiri Maharaj, 35, and their car driver Nilesh Telgade, 30 – was dragged out of their car and beaten to death on suspicion that they were thieves. “Police have detained 101 people involved in the killing of three Surat-bound people in Palghar. I have also ordered a high level inquiry into these killings,” Deshmukh tweeted. The Maharashtra home minister also warned officials against giving any communal colour to the incident, as two of the three deceased were allegedly seers.
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said, “The Palghar incident has been acted upon. The police have arrested all those accused who attacked the two sadhus, one driver and the police personnel on the day of the crime itself. “Nobody guilty of this heinous crime and shameful act will be spared and they will be brought to justice in the strongest way possible,” Thackeray said in a tweet.
{{/usCountry}}Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said, “The Palghar incident has been acted upon. The police have arrested all those accused who attacked the two sadhus, one driver and the police personnel on the day of the crime itself. “Nobody guilty of this heinous crime and shameful act will be spared and they will be brought to justice in the strongest way possible,” Thackeray said in a tweet.
{{/usCountry}}Former chief minister and leader of Opposition in Assembly, Devendra Fadnavis said: “I urge the government to immediately set up a high-level enquiry.”
Elaborating on the Dahanu incident, assistant police inspector Prakash Sonwane said: “The man hails from Tamil Nadu and was walking in the area. Due to the lockdown, he did not have means to find food. He doesn’t understand Marathi. We rushed to the spot and rescued him from the mob and brought him to the police station.” The police on Sunday arrested the 17 people and produced them before a local court. The man is being treated for his injuries in a hospital.
Earlier last week, four personnel of Kasa Police were injured and the SUV of a skin specialist Dr Vishwas Valvi of Thane was destroyed by a mob at Saarni village in the district.
(With inputs from IANS)