Mumbai: A new turning point into Palghar Sadhu lynching case. The role of Rahul Gandhi in the case comes to light suggesting the incident to be a politically motivated and pre-planned one.
Revelations by Shiv Sena is that the transfer of the Palghar Sadhu lynching case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was halted by Uddhav Thackeray, the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, on the orders of Rahul Gandhi. This news comes to light after 4 years of the incident when Shiv Sena secretary and spokesperson Kiran Pawaskar confirmed the interference of Rahul Gandhi in the case with evidence.
“There’s evidence suggesting that under pressure from Rahul Gandhi, Uddhav Thackeray agreed not to transfer the case to the CBI,” Pawaskar said.
On 16 April 2020, a mob of over 100 people lynched to death two Hindu Sadhus associated with the Juna Akhara, 70-year-old Kalpavrishka Giri Maharaj and 35-year-old Sushil Giri Maharaj, and their driver Nilesh Telgadewere, 30, in Gadchinchale Village, Palghar District in Maharashtra. They were on the way from Mumbai to Gujarat to give Samadhi to another Sadhu.
Videos of the incident showed the Sadhus being brutally lynched in the presence of the police who allegedly handed them over to the mob. Though it was reported that the policemen tried to intervene in the incident and hence suffered injuries, they were seen as mute spectators in the videos that went viral after the incident.
Though 115 villagers were arrested by the Maharashtra police on charges of murder as of 4 May, 2020, the Uddhav Thackeray government (Maha Vikas Aghadi) tried to downplay the incident and reported it as a misunderstanding on the part of the mob who mistook the Sadhus as thieves involved in child trafficking in the area.
But several reports that emerged in the wake of the brutal lynching pointed out that the murder of the Hindu sadhus might not have taken place due to a misunderstanding but it might have been part of a broader conspiracy designed to eliminate the Hindu priests. The involvement of Christian Missionary organisations and some local NCP leaders and leftists were also suspected.
When the Thackeray-led government and Maharashtra police made no significant progress even after three to four months of the incident, the Akhara leaders demanded the transfer of the case to the CBI.
However, Thackeray’s administration opposed transferring the case to the CBI. Days after the Supreme Court had sought a response from the then Uddhav Thackeray government on the petitions seeking a CBI and NIA probe into the case of the brutal lynching of Hindu Sadhus in Palghar, Uddhav Thackeray submitted an affidavit in the apex court opposing the transfer of the Palghar lynching case to the CBI.
“The reactions of CM Thackeray and Home Minister Anil Deshmukh then had lead to suspicions that the sadhus were murdered at the behest of the Maharashtra government. The government’s reluctance to hand over the Sadhu murder case to the CBI also prevented a timely investigation,” Pawaskar said.
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