Palghar lynching case: SC asks Maharashtra government to produce charge sheets before it in three weeks

A Supreme Court (SC) bench on Thursday (August 6) ordered the Maharashtra government to produce the charge sheets filed in the FIRs related to the Palghar mob lynching case. The order was passed by a SC bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and R Subhash Reddy while hearing a plea filed by an advocate demanding a CBI probe into the incident.

The apex court has also asked the Maharashtra government to bring on record the enquiry conducted against the policemen allegedly involved in Palghar lynching case and the action taken against them. The SC bench has now posted the matter for hearing after 3 weeks.

On June 11, the SC had issued a notice to Maharashtra government seeking response on a petition demanding a CBI probe into the lynching of two sadhus by a mob in Palghar.

The relatives of two Juna Akhara priests who were lynched had filed the plea in the top court seeking a CBI probe into the incident. In the plea, they mentioned that they have no faith in the Maharashtra government or police. The petitioner also said that they do not believe that a fair and just probe would be conducted in this matter by Maharashtra police as they suspect their involvement in the incident.

The mob lynching of three men, including two saints Kalpavriksha Giri Maharaj, Sushil Giri Maharaj, took place in Palghar on April 16 upon rumours that they were kidnapping children to harvest organs, including kidneys.

The two saints and their driver Nilesh Yalgade were going to Surat in a Maruti Eeco van to attend the funeral of a saint from their Kandivali ashram in Mumbai when they were attacked by the mob.