24 more held by CID in Palghar lynching case, total 133 arrests made so far

Mumbai: The Maharashtra CID on Tuesday (May 12) arrested at least 24 more accused who absconding in connection with the lynching of three seers in Palghar last month. With this, at least 133 people have been arrested in the case so far. 

According to the police, nine minors have also been arrested among the 133. 

Earlier, the Palghar SP was sent on leave whereas five policemen were suspended and 35 others were transferred for dereliction of their duties on the incident.

On May 1, the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Maharashtra Police arrested five more persons in connection with the lynching of sadhus in Palghar. A day later, the police found that one of the accused arrested in the case, and was ket at the Wada police station, to be infected with coronavirus COVID-19. The accused was first admitted in an isolation ward of Palghar rural hospital and was later shifted to a prisoner ward at JJ Hospital.

Although it was not confirmed, the accused was believed to have contracted the infection as almost 20-30 accused were lodged in a single cell at the prison.

On April 16, two monks were heading towards Surat from Mumbai in a car with a driver to attend a funeral. At Gadchinchle village, a mob of villagers stopped them and beat them to death on suspicion that they were thieves, even as a few police personnel had reached the spot. Some of the accused later fled into the dense forest around the village. According to an official, the police used drones to hunt them.