Cultural Violence

( the Context of Palghar Mob Lynching )

By

Chandan Sengupta

1
Forewords

These days entire world is fighting against a

common enemy. The enemy is strong
enough and invisible one. One can rarely
identify presence of this enemy in the
surrounding so easily. Entire health system,
enforcement department and
administrative wings are joining hands to
develop a common and comprehensive
strategy of fighting the enemy.

The gift of China to the world is so

expensive that people intends to give up
the battle to some of the selected front.
Down scaling of economic progress and
development index are still continuing.
Studies say that the entire world will move
on through this crisis up to 2020 and 2021.
It may remain in the socity in the form of
symptomatic as well as asymptomatic

2
phases. Every 4 out of 5 cases may be of
asymptomatic type.

Amidst all these turmoil due to a

pandemic another incident stunned the
entire world during which two saints and a
driver of their car has lost their lives during
an organized killing in a village near Palghar,
Maharashtra. Finding out culprits, bring
them straight to justice, issuing severe
punishment to the culprits are matters of
judiciary concern. It has raised several
questions related to the role of police in
maintain the law and order, sensitivity of
government towards any issue and
credibility of the judiciary in gaining the
confidence of people.

This publication deals with social

and economic implications of incidents in
which people start taking law in their hands.
It also puts a question mark on the status of
the law and order in states like
Maharashtra, where life of saintly persons
came under threat. They feel themselves
helpless.

3
 If they are demanding justice in a
fast track mechanism then the government
should have compassion of issuing the same
with the help of fast track mechanism.
Delayed judgment is also a kind of sin. In
this case punishments are generally lose its
all kinds of social and economic impacts
upon the socially accustomed beings.

People lose faith on judiciary, saints

lose faith on people, media lose confidence
on the enforcement wing of the
government; all these facts indicate a kind
of loosely packed enforcement and judiciary
mechanism inflicted with lack of proper
sectoral coordinations. We also discuss on
such issues for exploring possible ways and
means of diffusing chances of ripening of
any kind of communal tensions.

Author

4
The Background
These days incidents like Mob
Lynching and organized killing is becoming a
common affair. People often take the risk of
taking law in their hand for organizing some
violent actions against some person or
accused without waiting to it to be proved
by the legal framework.

In some cases an angry mob often

lynches a suspect without involving in any
prolonged process of trial. According to a
Reuters report, a total of 63 cow vigilante
attacks had occurred in India between 2010
and mid 2017. The 2015 Dadri mob lynching
refers to case of mob lynching in which a
mob of villagers attacked the home of 52
year old Muslim man Mohammed Akhlaq,
killing him, for suspicion of slaughtering a
cow. The attack took place at night, on 28
September 2015 in Bisara village, near
Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, India .
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 In some cases a legal lynching is
often organized with an intention of
administering rapid judgment. Lynching, a
form of violence in which a mob, under the
pretext of administering justice without
trial, executes a presumed offender, often
after inflicting torture and corporal
mutilation. The term lynch law refers to a
self-constituted court that imposes
sentence on a person without due process
of law.

There arises question about faith of

people on judiciary and their assurance on
gaining justice. Incidents taking place
beyond the judiciary framework always
marks some sort of demerits of the judiciary
and its implements.

Most alarming situation came in

focus during the Palghar Mob Lynching. It
was taking place in presence of Police force.
Even the vehicle of Police Force was under
threat. But the reason for which police kept
themselves off the execution has raised
several doubts about their probable role in

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diffusing the tension. Lack of faith on the
judiciary process impregnated with a
negativity of imparting oneself in the
process of legal suit is mounting a direct
threat upon the sovereignty and prosperity
of the nation as a whole. The 1985 batch
IAS officer, originally from Andhra Pradesh,
was dragged out from his official car and
killed by a mob in Vaishali district of Bihar,
while he was on the way to Patna.

Former top cop and MoS HRD

Satyapal Singh alleged that during his
posting in the tribal area as IG crime was
rare but Christian evangelists were engaged
in conversion activities. He further said that
cops should find out who provoked the
villagers to attack the sadhus after labeling
them as thieves.

Singh’s statement comes at a time

when the Criminal Investigation
Department (CID) has taken over the
investigation of three FIRs filed in
connection with the Palghar lynching
incident.

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 A 51-year-old Muslim man,
Mohammed Akhlaq, was attacked at his
home, by a mob; he was killed on suspicions
of slaughtering a cow. The attack happened
on 28th September 2015 in Bisara village,
near Dadri, Uttar Pradesh. Several cow
vigilante attacks have been reported since
2014; these mob attacks are carried out in
the name of “cow protection” and they
usually target illegal cow smugglers, but
even licensed cow traders are subjected to
harassment.

On 27th June 2019, in Patna, a

driver was beaten to death by a mob when
he lost control over the vehicle and moved
on the footpath. On August 4, 2019, again
in Patna, 2 Sikh persons were attacked by
the mob on suspicion of child theft, and one
of them died.

On December 3, 2018, Police

inspector Subodh Kumar Singh was shot
dead in the head in Bulandshahr in Uttar

8
Pradesh. A female forest ranger, C. Anitha,
was attacked by a mob in the state of
Telangana.

In September 2017, the Supreme

Court ruled that each state should have a
police officer in each district, as a nodal
officer, to take strict action against lynching.
It also directed the Parliament to make a
special law on mob lynching. The
Parliament is yet to take action in
furtherance.

Regarding Palghar incident, the VHP

claimed that the killings took place in the
stronghold of CPI(M) and alleged that five
prime accused in the case are still at large.
It further said that the nationalists were
watching the situation with patience due to
the ongoing lockdown in the wake of the
coronavirus pandemic and demanded
exemplary punishment by the state
government.

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 Lakhs of Naga sadhus will march to
Maharashtra

The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad

(ABAP), the apex body of saints and seers,
has also threatened to launch a massive
agitation if strong action is not taken
against those responsible for the brutal
incident in which two saffron-clad sadhus
including their driver were lynched by a
mob.

The ABAP further said that lakhs of

Naga sadhus and members of various
akharas will march to Maharashtra after
lockdown is lifted if all the guilty are not
punished. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Home
Minister Anil Deshmukh said none of the
101 people arrested in connection with the
Palghar lynching case is a Muslim and
slammed the opposition of giving
communal colour to the incident.

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The Hidden regulating factors

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the

founder of the Maratha Empire, had, at a
very young age cut-off the hands of a
Muslim butcher when he saw the butcher
dragging a bovine to kill her. The same
legacy to protect Vedic Hindu culture was
passed on in his son Sambhaji Raje, who
executed a Muslim for killing a cow in 1683.
Moreover, the Directive Principles of State
Policy, Directive Principles of the Indian
Constitution, also talks about the
promotion and protection of cows.

in 1966, Hindu organizations agitated to

demand a ban on the slaughter of cows in
India, as enshrined in the Constitution of
India. Among others, the Shankaracharya
fasted for the cause. The agitation
culminated in a massive demonstration
outside Sansad Bhavan in New Delhi on 7
November 1966. As per Hindu Panchang,
that day was Kartik Shukla Ashtami of
Vikram Samvat, known as Gopashtami
among Hindus.

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A mass of 10,000 advocates against cow
slaughter, led by Hindu Sadhus and
thousands of anti-slaughter Hindu devotees
tried to storm the parliament but were
prevented. Around 3 to 7 lakh sadhus and
saints were attacked by the Delhi police
who sprayed bullets, released tear gas
shells and charged at them with rods and
batons, at the behest of Indira Gandhi.
According to official figures, 250 sadhus
were killed on the streets of Delhi on that
day, but according to non-official claims, at
least 5000 saints were murdered.

It is believed that after the incident, the

dead Hindus were ruthlessly loaded in
trucks and transported in the dark of night
to the ridge area outside Delhi. Without
even checking that some of them may be
alive, they were burnt. If any mob lynching
comes out of an un manageable anger of
any oppressed community, then the
involvement of a master mind behind the
brutality is also a fact. People confer their
act through execution only after receiving
certain assurance from the person having

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some understanding of political and
judiciary standard. Without gaining any kind
of leadership assurance people rarely take
law in their hands.

India witnessed free and fair

movement of saintly people from olden
times. There rarely came any instances of
any organized killing in which any saint
became a victim of any organized killing.

What Next!
It has marked a serious question on
the credibility of police, administration legal
frameworks and other such instruments
having responsibility of implementing legal
frameworks at the community level.
Maintenance of law and order is also a
matter of serious concern. If people intends
to opt for a self-managed judgment through
incidents like lynching then the
enforcement of law will become a
challenging one.

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 It is obvious, at this critical juncture,
that law enforcement agencies should work
out a comprehensive plan for speeding up
the judiciary process and for making the
process more and more sensitive. It can be
more stupendous, more people friendly and
more conspicuous. Law should not hold any
corner or any loop holes for enabling
culprits to escape the judiciary.

Our multi party representative

democratic set up should allow political
groups to mould any judiciary actions
merely for fulfilling the political wills. They
should not move on adequately towards
distorting any judgment simply for
calculating any kind of political mileage.

Saints are at risk

Gadchinchale Mob Lynching has
proved something which we are not trying
to keep maintaining on our faith. The
incident is also a mark on the socialization
process of a community by certain adjoining

14
social or voluntary or any religious group. It
also points out towards the backwardness
of a community during the information age.

The incident of 16th April 2020 came

in focus after a gap of four days. Local as
well as state government have exhibited
their sensitivity after a gap of such a long
time at the moment when the country is
passing through a pandemic. The excuses
popularised by the government has pointed
out lack of any involvement of Muslims in
the incident of killing saints (Hindu Sadhus).
This statement itself points out the fault of
the law enforcement about their sensitivity
of the fact which might be there in some
hidden state. Question arises about the
confirmation of the nature and motive force
behind the incident. How one can say
something about the incident without any
investigation? Because of this reason, and
also due to lack of adequate sensitivity
about the motive force operating from
behind, statements issued by the law
enforcement bodies are contradictory. If
investigation is still in progress then we

15
cannot ascertain the nature and motive
hidden behind any incident.

Question arises about the incident

because of one or all the reasons as
depicted below.

1. Why Police remained less responsive

on the spot?
2. Why another group of police
remained off the scene during that
moment?
3. Was there any other motive force
acting in this regard to implement
any act of revenge?
4. All the three victims were
repeatedly pleading for the help and
the law enforcement body played a
role of mere spectator.
5. How such a big mob gathered at the
place amidst strict restrictions of
Lock Down?

Community level sins are often

arranged under certain strong motive force
for safeguarding rights of some people and

16
oppressing some other people through
incidents of victimization. People’s War
Group, Maoist’s Communist Centres, other
oppressing groups, extremist missionaries
are of such types. They placed saintly
people at high risk. Attack on saints was not
so common in olden times. Some of the
incidents took place under the format of
some organized conspiracy. People rarely
come to know about such organized killings.
When a country is blooming with adequate
prosperity and the time when the entire
country joining hands to fight a common
hidden enemy, the incident of organized
killing of saints is an alarming one. It proves
that people with some sort of animism are
still there in our country.

Most of leaders are maintain a

common concern about such community
with animism at an out numbered ones.
They should not receive attention from
other communities. They should remain
out numbered because of their intolerance
and because of their affinity of putting
hands on the law. They should receive

17
adequate orientations from organisations
having experiences of mainstreaming
special tribes.

The Commuinity under shadow

According to Census 2011
information the location code or village
code of Gadchinchale village is 551629.
Gadchinchale village is located in Dahanu
Tehsil of Thane district in Maharashtra,
India. It is situated 65 km away from sub-
district headquarter Dahanu and 135km
away from district headquarter Thane. As
per 2009 stats, Divshi is the gram panchayat
of Gadchinchale village.

The total geographical area of village is

852.18 hectares. Gadchinchale has a total
population of 1,208 peoples. There are
about 248 houses in Gadchinchale village.
As per 2019 stats, Gadchinchale villages
comes under Dahanu assembly & Palghar

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parliamentary constituency. Dahanu is
nearest town to Gadchinchale which is
approximately 65km away.

Delayed Reactions

Two sadhus and their driver were lynched

by a mob in Maharashtra's Palghar district
on Thursday on being suspected to be
child-kidnappers and organ harvesters.
Over the past few days, local villagers had
formed vigilante groups after rumours that
organ-harvesting gangs, child lifters and
thieves were operating in these areas at
night. The deceased were identified as
Chikne Maharaj Kalpavrukshagiri (70),

19
Sushilgiri Maharaj (35), and their car driver
Nilesh Telgade (30). According to reports,
The three were driving to a funeral in Surat
when a group of villagers in Gadchinchle
stopped their car and attacked them with
stones, logs and axes. The case has drawn
widespread criticism for the Maharashtra
government who so far have claimed that
more than 100 people including five main
suspect have been arrested. Maharashtra
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has ruled
out any communal angle in the case and
assured a speedy trial.

Palghar lynching: What we know so far

Three persons were beaten to death by a
group of villagers in Palghar district of
Maharashtra. The gruesome incident took
place between 9.30-10 pm on April 16
(Thursday). The two sadhus and their
driver were heading to a funeral in Surat.
The incident occurred in Gadchinchale
village, located in Dahanu Taluka of the
tribal-dominated Palghar district, which is
140 kms North of Mumbai.

20
The Palghar Police arrested 101 people and
detained nine minors in connection with
the sadhus lynching case. The Kasa police
registered three FIRs in connection with
the incident and arrested 101 people, who
have been remanded in police custody till
April 30. Nine juveniles have been sent to a
remand home at Bhiwandi in neighbouring
Thane district
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil
Deshmukh said a high-level inquiry had
been ordered into the incident and warned
against communalising it.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav
Thackeray on Sunday night said that
culprits involved in lynching of three men
in Palghar district will be brought to
justice. "The Palghar incident has been
acted upon. The police have arrested all
those accused who attacked the 2 sadhus,
1 driver and the police personnel, on the
day of the crime itself. Nobody guilty in
this heinous crime and shameful act will be
spared and they will be brought to justice
in the strongest way possible," CM said.

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On Monday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath spoke to Maharashtra CM
Uddhav Thackeray and urged to take strict
action against the culprits involved in the
lynching of three men in Palghar district.
"Spoke to Chief Minister of Maharashtra
Uddhav Thackeray yesterday evening
regarding the murder of saints of Juna
Akhara Swami Kalpvrikshgiri, Swami
Sushilgiri and their driver Neelesh
Telgarhe. I have urged him to take strict
action against the culprits," he said in a
tweet in Hindi.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on
Monday spoke to Maharashtra Chief
Minister Uddhav Thackeray to enquire
about the lynching of three people in the
state's Palghar area.
Two policemen were suspended on
Monday for alleged dereliction of duty in
the wake of lynching case. Palghar
Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh
ordered the suspension of Kasa police
station's assistant police inspector

22
Anandrao Kale and sub-inspector Sudhir
Katare for alleged dereliction of duty
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav
Thackeray on Monday spoke on the
Palghar mob lynching incident said that
there is no communal angle in the case
adding that the government has taken
action against the culprits and so far
arrested 100 suspects including 5 main
accused.
Palghar lynching case: Outrage and blame
game on Twitter
Palghar lynching has also left twitter
outraged and divided on the matter.

When Bala Saheb ruled, sadhus were

respected: BJP's Gaurav Goel

Sambit Patra on Palghar lynching

"Very important revelations in the
#PalgharMobLynching case It clearly
establishes a deep nexus! Why should
politicians & leaders be present at the
Lynching site ..what were they doing
..Instigating?? And @Sunil_Deodhar ji the

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parties whose leaders were present are
Saffron Haters!
Maharashtra CM's official twitter handle
on Palghar lynching
पालघर की घटना पर कारर वाई की गई है । जिन्होंने
२ साधुओ,ों १ डर ाइवर और पुजलस कजमरयहों पर
हमला जकया था, पुजलस ने घटना के जिन ही उन
सभी आरहजपयहों कह जगरफ्तार कर जलया है । इस
अपराध और शमरनाक कृत्य के अपराजधयहों कह
कठहर िण्ड जिया िाएगा।
— CMO Maharashtra
(@CMOMaharashtra) April 19, 2020

24
 Media Coverage

More than 100 people have been arrested

for allegedly beating three men to death in
the western Indian state of Maharashtra.

The incident happened in Palghar district on

Thursday but a video of the attack went
viral on Sunday.

25
Reports say the men, who were reportedly
mistaken for thieves, were going to a
funeral when the mob dragged them out of
their car.

India has been under lockdown since 25

March to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Among the dead are two Hindu godmen
and their driver. The viral video shows the
mob lynching the men as police struggled to
rescue them. The mob reportedly suspected
that the men were child abductors.
Attacks over child abduction rumours have
happened in the past in different parts of
the country.

Former Maharashtra chief minister

Devendra Fadnavis said the incident
showed that the government was not in
control of the law and order situation in the
state.

Several Hindu groups have also criticised

the incident and raised questions over the
lockdown measures in the state.

26
Meanwhile, Maharashtra home minister
Anil Deshmukh said there was nothing
communal about the incident.

He added that the victims and the attackers

belonged to the same religion. His
statement came after several posts on
social media tried to stoke religious
tensions over the attack.
Source : BBC

Gruesome attack

Last week, on the night of April 16, a

shocking case of mob lynching took place in
Gadchinchle village of Dahanu tehsil in the

27
Palghar district of Maharashtra, around 150
Km from Mumbai. This incident must be
strongly condemned and strict punishment
meted out to those proved guilty.
What were the facts of the case? Why did it
occur? And what is its political fallout?

What exactly happened?

Two sadhus with their driver were going by

car from Mumbai to Surat to attend a
funeral. Their names were Mahant
Kalpavruksha Giri (70), Sushilgiri Maharaj
(35) and Naresh Yelgade. They apparently
did not have a lockdown travel pass. To
avoid the police who would have stopped
them, they did not go by the Mumbai-
Ahmedabad national highway and took a
detour by a small road in the remote rural
areas of Dahanu tehsil which goes to
Gujarat via the Union Territory of Dadra and
Nagarhaveli.

It must be remembered that this is an

extremely backward and entirely Adivasi
(tribal) area. They passed Gadchinchle

28
village, were briefly stopped by the forest
guard, but when they reached the
Maharashtra border 1 Km away, the guards
at Dadra and Nagarhaveli refused them
permission to go ahead and turned them
back. They came back by the same route
and were again stopped at the forest check
post.

Then the trouble began.

The time was around 9 pm and the episode
that followed went on for two hours. A
crowd of 400 people gathered and started
accusing the sadhus of being robbers and
child lifters. A small police party came and
when they realised they could do nothing
against the mob, they called for more
police, who reached after 10 pm. The mob
overturned the sadhus’ car, broke the
window glass of both this and the police
car. Police had apparently escorted two of
the victims to the police car and the third
who was injured was in the forest chowki.
When he was being escorted to the police
car, all hell broke loose. Under the very
29
nose of the police, all three were
mercilessly lynched by the mob. As Kavitha
Iyer wrote in The Indian Express on April 23,
“That is key to the tragedy – and the probe:
the arrival of the police when the victims
were unharmed and their subsequent
murder in their presence.”

Immediately after this incident, the police in

order to cover up their negligence and
dereliction of duty, went into overdrive and
arbitrarily arrested many innocent people
from several villages in the area.

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Why did this macabre incident occur?

For the last few weeks in the lockdown

period, false and mischievous WhatsApp
messages were being circulated not only in
this area, but also in hundreds of tribal
villages of Palghar district. They conveyed
that robbers were on the prowl, they would
not only rob but also spit in wells to spread
the Coronavirus and worse still, would
indulge in child-lifting so as to harvest their
kidneys. As a result, regular night vigils were
kept by the people in several villages to
prevent any such intruders. Roadblocks
were erected outside several villages. The
entire area was gripped by fear, hate and

31
tension. The lockdown and the resultant
serious problems of livelihood like lack of
income and food, aggravated the situation.

Some gram panchayats reportedly lodged

complaints with the police against such
rumours being spread through WhatsApp.
Two days before the lynching incident, on
the night of April 14, a tribal doctor Dr
Vishwas Valvi and his team, which was
returning after distributing food to some
villages, was similarly attacked by a mob in
Sarni village. The police which came to
rescue him were also attacked along with
their vehicle. Other such incidents occurred
in villages like Waki, Amboli, Zai and
Saiwan. These incidents should actually
have alerted the police and forced them to
investigate and take action against the
sources of such false WhatsApp messages,
and reassure the villagers. But nothing of
the sort was done.

As noted above, the role of the police on

the spot at Gadchinchle village before and
when the lynching took place clearly

32
amounted to dereliction of duty. This needs
a thorough investigation.

The sadhus travelling without a lockdown

pass through a remote area at night
worsened matters.

The political fall-out

With two sadhus being killed, several BJP
leaders immediately came out with their
typical knee-jerk reactions that it was the
Muslims who were responsible. A vile
attempt was made to give the unfortunate
incident a communal colour on both
mainstream and social media.

The other main target of BJP attacks was

the Maha Vikas Aghadi state government,
comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and
Congress. All attempts were made to
attack, discredit and denigrate the state
government for ‘allowing’ such an incident
to take place. The BJP has been suffering
from severe heartburn ever since the last

33
state assembly elections in October 2019,
when its tally was much less than expected,
and especially when the Shiv Sena, its
oldest political ally, was forced by the BJP to
dump the BJP and make common cause
with the NCP and the INC, to head the new
state government.

Both the Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the
NCP leader and state Home Minister Anil
Deshmukh immediately and effectively
blunted the BJP attack.

34
Thackeray in his address to the people of
Maharashtra, clearly made the following
points:
. The incident was not like the series of
communal mob lynchings that have taken
place in large parts of the country in the last
six years, but was a result of
misunderstanding.

. There were rumours for the last few

weeks in the rural areas of Palghar district
of robbers roaming at night, and this was
the cause of the attack.

. There was no communal angle at all to this

incident and no one should try to give it a
communal colour.

. Over 100 people, including the five main

accused, had already been arrested and
strict action would be taken against those
proved guilty.

. Two police persons had been summarily

suspended. A serious CID enquiry had been
instituted to thoroughly inquire into the

35
episode.

Deshmukh released the list of the 101

people taken into custody (excluding nine
minors) to show that none of them was a
Muslim. He also warned against
communalising the issue.

When their communal card backfired, the

BJP and RSS promptly began targeting the
local opposition. Their leaders like Sambit
Patra, Sunil Deodhar and many others put
out baseless charges on social media that it
was the CPI(M), NCP, Congress and
Kashtakari Sanghatana who were
responsible for the crime.

The RSS mouthpiece Organiser of April 20,

in a report under the heading “CPM-
Christian missionary plot emerges behind
the Palghar Lynching case; Another
Governance failure of Maharashtra Govt”,
spread the falsehood that “the five main
accused are said to be activists of the CPM.”

After raving and ranting against the CPI(M)

36
and Christian missionaries, it added, “Shiraz
Balsara, the head of a NGO named
Kashtakari which has links with the Christian
missionaries is working to arrange for the
bail of those arrested and are in the custody
of the police. It is now being alleged that
the local CPM MLA Comrade Vinod Nikole is
the brain behind this incident.”

The RSS bile against the CPI(M) MLA Vinod

Nikole is because he defeated the sitting
BJP MLA Pascal Dhanare in the Dahanu (ST)
seat in the state assembly elections held in
October 2019. The NCP, Congress, Bahujan
Vikas Aghadi and the Kashtakari Sanghatana
all supported the CPI(M) in that election.
None of the five main accused are CPI(M)
members. Hence the CPI(M) has decided to
drag Sambit Patra, Sunil Deodhar and
others to court and will file a suit for
defamation.

The facts of the matter are exactly the

opposite of what the BJP is alleging.

37
 Gadchinchle village, where the lynching
occurred, has for the last 10 years been the
base of the BJP. The sarpanch of the village,
Chitra Choudhari, belongs to the BJP. Now
the Congress spokesman Sachin Sawant has
brought out proof with photographs to
show that two of those in custody – Ishwar
Nikole and Bhau Sathe – are members of
the BJP’s village booth committee. There
are likely to be many more BJP men
involved.

PUCL: Seminal observations

The PUCL Maharashtra Inquiry Report
titled “Palghar Lynching: Triad of Rumour,
Fear and Hate Propaganda” released on
April 23 makes several seminal
observations.

38
“PUCL Maharashtra strongly condemns the
lynching of three persons in Gadchinchle,
Palghar district. PUCL Maharashtra is also
deeply concerned by the severe repression
on those tribals who were not connected
with the incident, as a result of the police
investigation, forcing many of them to
abandon their homes and hide in nearby
forests...

“It is important to note that rumours,

extreme fear, suspicion and hate-
mongering were a precursor to this horrific
incident. In this context, the communalising
of the incident, with fake news about the
perpetrators, is despicable and deplorable.

39
We strongly condemn the manner in which
certain forces tried to communalise the
incident at first and when that failed, have
now begun demonising left parties who
work in the area.

“PUCL Maharashtra demands that a speedy

and independent investigation be carried
out to establish the origins and spread of
the rumours; to investigate the action by
the administration and police; to deal
strictly to quell the false and dangerous
propaganda and to put into place long term
measures to help tribals cope with the
severe effects of the lockdown, the loss of
livelihood and deprivation of basic
necessities.”

Dr Ashok Dhawale is President of the All

India Kisan Sabha.

Source: The Citizen

40
An Appeal

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi

Adityanath on Monday said he has urged
his Maharashtra counterpart to take strict
action against the culprits involved in the
lynching of three men in Palghar district.

"Spoke to Chief Minister of Maharashtra

Uddhav Thackeray yesterday evening
regarding murder of saints of Juna Akhara
Swami Kalpvrikshgiri, Swami Sushilgiri and
their driver Neelesh Telgarhe. I have urged
him to take strict action against the
culprits," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

41
In another tweet, Adityanath said, "The
Chief Minister of Maharashtra said that
some persons have been arrested, and
strict action will be initiated against rest of
the accused persons after identifying
them."

On Sunday, Maharashtra Chief Minister

Uddhav Thackeray had said the culprits
involved in the lynching of three men in
Palghar district will be brought to justice.

"The Palghar incident has been acted upon.

The police has arrested all those accused
who attacked the 2 sadhus, 1 driver and the
police personnel, on the day of the crime
itself.

"Nobody guilty in this heinous crime and

shameful act will be spared and they will be

42
brought to justice in the strongest way
possible," the CM said in late night tweets
posted on his official Twitter handle.

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh

has already announced a high-level inquiry
into the incident, that occurred on the night
of April 16 when three men from Kandivali
in Mumbai were headed towards Surat in a
car to attend a funeral.

Their vehicle was stopped near a village in

Palghar district. The trio was dragged out of
the car and beaten to death with sticks by a
mob on suspicion that they were thieves.

43
The deceased were identified as Chikne
Maharaj Kalpavrukshagiri (70), Sushilgiri
Maharaj (35), and their car driver Nilesh
Telgade (30).

A Blame Game

In the Palgarh lynching case, none of the

101 people arrested so far is a Muslim, said
Maharashtra’s Home Minister Anil
Deshmukh on Wednesday , and accused the
opposition of giving a communal colour to
the incident, where a mob attacked and
killed three men, including two seers.

44
“None of the accused arrested in
connection with the incident is a Muslim. It
is unfortunate that communal politics is
being played following the incident,”
Deshmukh said in his address via Facebook.

He did not take names, but said, “Some

people are seeing ‘Mungerilal ke haseen
sapne’ (pipe dream)…it is not the time to
play politics, but fight coronavirus
collectively.”

While the Maha Vikas Aghadi government

in Maharashtra has been issuing warnings
against giving a communal colour to the
Palghar lynching, its own minister Anil
Deshmuk on Tuesday specifically said that

45
no Muslim has been arrested in connection
with the crime. Anil, who happens to be the
state’s Home minister, said none of the 101
people arrested in connection with the
crime is a Muslim and went on to accuse
the opposition BJP of communalising it.

“None of the accused arrested in

connection with the incident is a Muslim. It
is unfortunate that communal politics is
being played following the incident,”
Deshmukh said in his address via Facebook.

“Some people are seeing ‘Mungerilal ke

haseen sapne’ (pipedream)…it is not the
time to play politics, but fight coronavirus
collectively,” he said without naming
anyone.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party is

leaving no stone unturned to attack the
MVA government led by Shiv Sena, the
saffron party’s estranged ally. Besides Shiv

46
Sena, the MVA comprises the NCP of Sharad
Pawar and Congress. The BJP has been
accusing Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray
and his party Shiv Sena of going soft against
the accused in this case and demanded
stern action against those behind the killing.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray who

claims to be a staunch supporter of
Hindutva has said that there is neither
Hindu-Muslim angle nor communalism in
the attack and that the Palghar incident has
been acted upon.

The incident has evoked a sharp reaction

from the sant samaj of the country who are
demanding that CM Uddhav punish the
perpetrators.

According to the government’s claim, 101

people have been arrested so far in the

47
case. Also, five men who orchestrated the
crime have been arrested.

The crime took place at a village in Palghar

district on April 16 night when three men
including two saints linked to the Juna
Akhara were going towards Surat to attend
a funeral. Their car was stopped where the
three were dragged out of the vehicle and
beaten to death with sticks by a mob. The
deceased were identified as Chikne Maharaj
Kalpavrukshagiri, Sushilgiri Maharaj, and
driver Nilesh Telgade.

Source: Financial Express

48
Attack on Media

The Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) has

strongly condemned the ghastly murder of
two sadhus belonging to the
Panchdashnami Juna Akhara in
Maharashtra’s Palghar district. The incident
happened on the night of April 16 when the
violent mob of over 400 mercilessly beat
the two sadhus Mahant Kalpvriksha Giri
(70) and Mahan Sushil Giri and their driver
Nilesh Telghade in presence of the police
personnel.

The Sadhus were going to Gujarat to attend

the funeral of one of their colleagues when
they were confronted by the violent mob
that beat them with rods, sticks, and bricks
to death even when they were seeking
protection from the police present on the
occasion. The cops, fearing for their own
lives, fled the place living the poor hapless
sadhus at the mercy of the mob.

49
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav
Thackeray said that the incident occurred
due to ‘misunderstanding’ and was not
intended to be communal attack as being
alleged by certain organizations. The state
has instituted a CID inquiry into the incident
and arrested over 100 persons involved in
this crime.

The Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) in its

meeting of national-level office-bearers
held via videoconferencing on Thursday,
April 23 deplored this inhuman act in the
strongest words and demanded that the
state government act swiftly, in this case, to
bring the real culprits to book and punish
them as soon as possible.

The meeting addressed by MRM Patron and

Guide Indresh Kumar and participated by
National Conveners, National Co-

50
Conveners, National Conveners of MRM
Cells, and some important functionaries
also condemned the attack on a noted
journalist, TV Anchor and Editor of Republic
Bharat channel Arnab Goswami and his wife
by the Congress goons.

This attack indicated a new kind of social

and political intolerance indulged in by the
Congress, left-liberals, and communalists
elements, the MRM resolution said
deploring this in the strongest words.

mob_1 H x W: 0

Arnab Goswami has raised a question on

the silence of Congress President Sonia
Gandhi on the Palghar murder incident and
demanded to know why she has not
condemned this as she did about the Batla
House terrorist killing or other such
incidents.

51
Irritated over his piercing questions, some
Youth Congress goons attacked Arnab and
his wife when they were returning from
their studio in the night. Alka Lamba
another Youth Congress leader patted the
attackers for ‘teaching a lesson’ to Goswami
and his wife for attacking Sonia Gandhi.

The MRM National Conveners Mohd Afzal,

Dr. Shahid Akhtar, Raza Rizvi, Reshma
Hussain, and others have demanded an
immediate inquiry into the incident and
punitive action against the perpetrators of
this attack to uphold the sanctity of
journalism and to safeguard the lives of
journalists like Goswami for exposing the
truth.

Source: News Bharati

A Diversion

52
On the night of April 16, three Mumbai
residents, who were on their way to
Silvassa, were lynched by local residents in
Gadakchinchale village of Palghar district on
the suspicion that they were thieves.

A large mob of villagers had surrounded the

car of the three men and started attacking
them with sticks and iron rods, leading to
the death of all three occupants. The
victims were reportedly local religious
leaders from Kandivali, who had first tried
to take the National Highway to Silvassa but
were stopped by police officials enforcing
the nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Home Minister

Anil Deshmukh shared the list of 101 people
taken into custody in connection with the
lynching, and said none of those arrested
were Muslim.

53
In a video message posted on his official
Facebook page, Deshmukh reiterated that
none of the accused in the incident
belonged to the Muslim community. “It is
unfortunate that communal politics is being
played following the incident,” he added.
“Some people are having pipedreams about
politicising the issue... it is not the time to
play politics, but to fight the coronavirus
collectively.”

Source : Scroll.in

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