Don't give communal angle to Palghar mob lynching, warns Maharashtra government

PTI photo

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said on Sunday (April 19) that a high-level probe had been ordered into the Palghar mob lynching incident in which three people, including two sadhus, were killed by a rampaging mob armed with axe and stick on Thursday night.

Deshmukh added that 101 people allegedly involved in this incident have been arrested by the police and the government will ensure that the guilty face maximum punishment.

"Police have detained 101 people involved in the killing of three Surat-bound people in Palghar. I have also ordered a high level inquiry into these killings,” Deshmukh tweeted.

मुंबईसे सूरत जानेवाले ३ लोगों की पालघर में हुई हत्या के बाद मेरे आदेश से इस हत्याकांड में शामिल १०१ लोगों को पुलिस हिरासत में लिया गया है। साथ ही उच्च स्तरीय जांच के आदेश भी दिए गए हैं। इस घटना को विवादास्पद बनाकर समाज में दरार बनाने वालों पर भी पुलिस नज़र रखेगी।#LawAndOrder — ANIL DESHMUKH (@AnilDeshmukhNCP) April 19, 2020

The Maharashtra Home Minister, however, warned the people against giving any communal colour to the incident and said that the police should keep an eye over those who will try to use this incident to create division in the society.

हमला करनेवाले और जिनकी इस हमले में जान गई - दोनों अलग धर्मीय नहीं हैं।
बेवजह समाज में/ समाज माध्यमों द्वारा धार्मिक विवाद निर्माण करनेवालों पर पुलिस और @MahaCyber1 को कठोर कार्रवाई करने के आदेश दिए गए हैं।#LawAndOrderAboveAll — ANIL DESHMUKH (@AnilDeshmukhNCP) April 19, 2020

Reacting to the Palghar incident, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said, “The Palghar incident has been acted upon. The police have arrested all those accused who attacked the two sadhus, one driver and the police personnel on the day of the crime itself. Nobody guilty of this heinous crime and shameful act will be spared and they will be brought to justice in the strongest way possible.”

The shocking incident occurred when these men were travelling from Mumbai's Kandivali towards Surat in Gujarat in a car to attend a funeral on Thursday night. Their vehicle was stopped by a mob in Palghar district and the trio were lynched on suspicion that they were thieves and kidnappers. The villagers also attacked the police personnel when they tried to stop the rampaging mob and some policemen also sustained injuries in the incident.