Palghar lynching: SC issues notice to Maharashtra government on plea seeking transfer of case to CBI

The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday (June 11) issued 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.

In another petition that was filed in the SC, the petitioner had claimed that it was widely reported by the media that the Maharashtra police failed to use force to stop the mob from lynching the two sadhus. "This happened despite the fact that whole country was under lockdown since March 25 and that no person is allowed to be out of their house and everyone has been asked to follow social distancing which raises a huge suspicion on part of local police," the plea said.

"During this whole incident, police did not take any concrete step to protect these innocent men which could be proved by the fact that they did not use any force to disperse the crowd and one of the video even shows that one of the police official actually pushed saints to the crowd when they were asking for the protection," it added.

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 sadhus and Nilesh Yalgade, who was driving a Maruti Eeco Van, were going to Surat to attend the funeral of a saint from their Kandivali ashram in Mumbai when they were attacked by the mob.