Child-lifting rumours led to Palghar lynching: CID chargesheet

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government on Thursday reiterated that the brutal mob lynching incident in Palghar district was a result of rumours and there was no communal angle in it.

Two sadhus, Kalpavriksha Giri Maharaj (70) and Sushil Giri Maharaj (35), who were from the famous Shri Panch Dashnam Juna Akhada of Varanasi, and their driver Nilesh Telgade (30), were lynched to death on the night of April 16 in the Gadchinchale village in Dahanu tehsil of Palghar district, nearly 120 kms from downtown Mumbai.

They were travelling towards Surat in a Maruti Eeco Van, during the Covid-19 lockdown. While a huge mob attacked the trio, the policemen, belonging to the Kasa police station, could not prevent the lynching.

“It was only because of rumour mongering,” state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said.

The statement comes a day after the Pune-headquartered State-CID filed two separate chargesheets running into 12,000 pages.

“Some political parties tried to give a communal angle by saying that it was because of a Hindu-Muslim issue, Hindi-Christian issue…the Maharashtra government had handed over the probe to the State-CID which has filed its chargesheet. There is no communal angle in it. It was because of rumours. There has been rumours of child kidnapping gangs being active in the area, before the incident happened,” Deshmukh said.

Meanwhile, state BJP spokesperson Ram Kadam came down heavily on the government.

“When the incident took place, even before completing the investigations, the government could claim that the triple-lynchings were an outcome of rumour-mongering. The police are echoing the views expressed by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Home Minister Anil Deshmukh soon after the incident in April… We reiterate our demand that the case should be handed over to the CBI for probe,” Kadam demanded.

After the chargesheet was filed, the State-CID said: “Two sadhus and their driver were travelling on April 16 in a Maruti Eeco Van from Mumbai to Gujarat, they were accosted and fatally attacked near a Forest Check Naka at village Gadchinchle, Taluka Dahanu, Palghar, by a violent mob of locals .Three different offences were registered at Kasa police station, Palghar vide C.R Nos. 76,77 and 78/2020 and investigated by the Palghar Police until the State Government transferred all these cases for investigation to the CID Crime, Maharashtra.”

On April 21, the CID took over the investigation and assigned the same to its Kokan Bhavan Unit headed by Superintendent of Police, Maruti Jagtap.

Additional Director General of Police (CID), Atulchandra Kulkarni, deployed additional manpower including Superintendent of Police (CID) Nasik, Ajay Deore, and several other officers of different ranks.

The entire team led by Special Inspector General of Police (West) CID, Pravin Salunke camped at KASA throughout the period of investigation.

“During the most challenging times of the pandemic, investigation in the crimes was most difficult as scores of people had to be called in for questioning; teams had to camp, fan out in the area to collect intelligence, nab the accused and undertake searche, seizures,” CID officials said.

The CID team examined 808 suspects and 118 witnesses to collect strong evidence against the accused.

In all, 154 persons were arrested and 11 juveniles in conflict with law, were detained.

None of the accused has been released on bail so far.

The chargesheets were filed by Deputy Superintendents of Police Vijay Pawar and Irfan Shaikh, who are the investigating officers of the case.

The CID has invoked Indian Penal Code, Disaster Management Act, Epidemic Diseases Act, Maharashtra Police Act and Maharashtra Damage to Public Property (Amendment) Act, with charges pertaining to murder, armed rioting, using criminal force to prevent a public servant from discharging his duties.