Palghar mob lynching: HC grants bail to 10

All the 18 accused had approached HC after the sessions court had rejected their bail pleas on the grounds that they had instigated and actively participated in the lynching

Mumbai The Bombay high court (HC) on Friday granted bail to 10 people for their purported roles in lynching two sadhus and their driver in April 2020 in Palghar district. The court, however, rejected bail pleas of the other eight accused.

The single-judge bench of justice Bharati Dangre, while hearing the bail applications, was informed by their respective lawyers that the prosecution had not been able to show complicity of the accused (HT File)

All the 18 accused had approached HC after the sessions court had rejected their bail pleas on the grounds that they had instigated and actively participated in the lynching. The lower court had granted bail to around 89 others booked for the same incident.

The single-judge bench of justice Bharati Dangre, while hearing the bail applications, was informed by their respective lawyers that the prosecution had not been able to show complicity of the accused. The advocates further argued that as the case of the prosecution was to the effect that a mob of 400 to 500 villagers was present at the spot and were violating lockdown norms, identifying the accused was doubtful.

“It is argued that without any sufficient evidence about their active participation in the assault, which led to the death of the three persons, the applicants cannot be held guilty of any conspiracy,” observed the bench in its order.

The 10 who were granted bail include Mohan Gavit, Ishwar Nikole, Firoj Sathe, Raju Gurud, Vijay Pilena, Risha Pilena, Deepak Gurud, Sitaram Rathod, Vijay Gurud and Ratna Bhawar.

The court held that CCTV footage relied upon by the prosecution proved the presence of the accused at the spot of the incident and even though the footage and photo clips showed the accused wielding weapons and instigating the mob, their active participation in the lynching could not be ascertained. The court granted bail to each of them on furnishing a bond of ₹25,000 each and two sureties.

The court rejected the bail pleas of Bhau Sathe, Havasa Sathe, Rajesh Rao, Ramdas Rao, Rajal Gurud, Mahesh Gurud, Lahanya Valakar and Sandesh Gurud, noting that there was material to suggest their active participation in the crime.

The incident occurred on April 14, 2020, when a mob of around 400 to 500 villagers assembled in Gadchinche. The mob stopped and overturned a white Eco car, leaving the two passengers and the driver trapped inside. The people inside the vehicle said that they were on the way to a funeral. Mistaking them for thieves, the mob assaulted them with wooden sticks, rods and stones. The incident took a serious turn when the violent mob hurled stones at the police van and the cops had to fire in the air to disperse the unruly crowd.

The investigation was initially conducted by Kasa police station, but later on, the case was handed over to the state CID. With the assistance of several villagers, the persons were identified and arrested. On the completion of the investigation, a 12,000 page chargesheet was filed against 126 accused.