Its turning out to be a BJP vs Left battle in Palghar district - days after the brutal mob-lynching incident in which two sadhus and a driver were killed.
The Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress Maha Vikas Aghadi government has handed over the probe to State-CID.
On social media platforms, right-wing-activists are demanding that the probe be handed over to the CBI or NIA.
State BJP President Chandrakant Patil wrote to Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, demanding the removal of Home Minister Ajit Pawar.
The Gahdchinchale village in Dahanu tehsil of Palghar district, where the incident took place, is 120 km off Mumbai.
The CPI(M), however, has come down heavily on the BJP.
"The Gadachinchle village where the killings took place has a BJP gram panchayat for the last 10 years. It is the base of the BJP. The present Sarpanch is of the BJP," said CPI (M) leader Narasayya Adam, who is party's Maharashtra state secretary and central committee member.
"In this background, to whom are the ringleaders of the killings connected? Who was spreading rumours in this area for the last several days? These and other matters will become clear in the police investigations," he said.
According to him, BJP leaders Sambit Patra and Sunil Deodhar have made statements defaming the CPI(M) without any basis whatsoever.
"We have begun the process of preparing a list that includes Sambit Patra, Sunil Deodhar, Prakash Gade, the admin of the 'I Devendra' Facebook page and other BJP supporters who are forwarding such posts on various WhatsApp groups and on Facebook. The CPI(M) has decided to begin legal proceedings against all the above, for defamation and rumour-mongering," he says.
Meanwhile, BJP leaders said local Gram Panchayats in the area where Sadhus were murdered by mob in Palghar district in presence of police are controlled by Communist Party of India (M) and local members of Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samittees belong to Nationalist Congress Party and yet Congress party is making a baseless allegation that the most of the accused arrested belong to BJP.
"Congress party was trying to signal the police about how they should proceed in investigation of the case and divert the same, said Madhav Bhandari, chief spokesperson of Maharashtra-BJP.
He said that failure of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance government in maintaining law and order in the state has been highlighted due the incident of mob lynching.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks