Palghar Mob Lynching: SC Seeks Probe Report From State Govt

Hours after the lynching, another mob had held police bus carrying reinforcements to the site, hostage.

Two of the three people lynched by the mob were sadhus. The third person was driving their car. 

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

The Supreme Court on Friday, 1 May, sought a report on the ongoing investigation in the Palghar mob lynching case from the Maharashtra government. A bench comprising Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice Sanjiv Khanna heard a PIL questioning the role of the police in permitting assembly of a large crowd at Palghar during a nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

The SC refused to stay the investigation in the case and asked the state to file a probe report in four weeks’ time, reported PTI.

The plea, filed by advocate Shashank Shekhar Jha, sought that the authorities be directed to form an SC-monitored SIT or judicial commission and also a CBI investigation into the matter along with FIRs against concerned police personnel.

On 16 April, three men including two sadhus and their driver were dragged out of a car and beaten to death by villagers in Palghar district of Maharashtra after rumours circulated that the gangs of bandits were roaming the area in the garb of sadhus and doctors.

A hundred and ten people have been arrested in the case so far including nine minors who have been sent to a juvenile home. The CID has taken over the investigation in the case.

Mob Held Police Bus Carrying Reinforcements Hostage

Hours after the three men were lynched by a mob near the Gadchinchle village, a police bus carrying reinforcements to the lynching site was reportedly stopped by a separate mob of 200 people and held hostage for more than three hours. 

The bus was held hostage at Chisda village near Khanvel in the Union Territory of Dadra-Nagar Haveli, about 13 km from Gadchinchle village in Palghar district, reported The Indian Express. A few policemen even sustained minor injuries in the attack.

Nineteen men were reportedly arrested from Chisda and other areas after an FIR was filed on 17 April. While they were released on bail, the police later placed two members of the group under preventive detention.

“While the incidents are separate, details have now been shared with the Maharashtra CID to check for any common elements. Photographs of the accused have been shared too.”

Superintendent of Police of Dadra-Nagar Haveli Sharad Darade to <i><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/palghar-separate-mob-stopped-bus-rushing-cops-to-lynching-site-6389635/">The Indian Express</a></i>&nbsp;