Man grilled in Palghar mob lynching case commits suicide

A man who was questioned in the sensational Palghar mob lunching incident has allegedly committed suicide.

The deceased Vinus Dharma Dhangada (32) was found hanging from a tree in a forest. He was a resident of Divshi-Chinchpada.

The Pune-headquartered State-CID had taken over the investigations of the Palghar mob lynching case from the Kasa police station.

An Accidental Death Report (ADR) has been registered and investigations are underway. Two sadhus, Kalpavriksha Giri Maharaj (70 years), Sushil Giri Maharaj (35) 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.

For four days before the incident, there were rumours that robbers had come to the village to steal kidneys, particularly of children, and sell them in the black market. This led to the villagers mounting a round-the-clock vigil. The sadhus and their driver were attacked by villagers suspecting them to be kidnappers. More than 130 villagers have been arrested in the case.