Is there a political conspiracy behind lynching of Hindu saints in Maharashtra's Palghar?

The mob lynching of three men, including two saints Kalpavriksha Giri Maharaj (70 years), Sushil Giri Maharaj (35), in Maharashtra's Palghar on April 16 has triggered a political slugfest with the BJP and other parties accusing the state government of failing to take action against those involved in the incident. The shocking incident took place when the two saints along with a driver of the vehicle were on their way to Surat in Gujarat. 

Zee News team visited the scene of crime and talked to several local people to know more about the incident and many people who wished to remain anonymous hinted that the lynching of the saints was part of a political conspiracy.

The local residents of the area said that the tribals living in Palghar had never assaulted any sadhu in the past, adding that in facts the sadhus are accorded a lot of respect by the tribals. 

Notably, Palghar is dominated by tribals and it is a bastion of Communist and like-minded parties. The village where the saints were lynched falls under Dahanu Assembly constituency of Palghar and the incumbent MLA of Dahanu, Vinod Nikole, is from Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM. Earlier, the seat was a stronghold of the Congress but after 1999 the NCP and CPM gained a foothold in the region. After 1999, NCP and CPM have won twice each from Dahanu. In 2014, BJP had won from this seat and in 2019 Assembly election there was a direct fight between the BJP and CPM on this seat. 

Local residents also told Zee News that rumours were going on in the village for quite some time that some people are coming to village to kidnap kids and commit theft and this is cited as the main reason by the police behind the brutal lynching of the saints. The two saffron-robed monks, who took a route passing through Gadchindhali village, were stopped by locals who suspected that they were child-lifters. During the attack on them even the police vehicles were damaged by the mob.

Zee Media reporter who reached the spot revealed several startling facts. The available facts and a few videos in possession of the Zee Media show inept handling of the situation by the police, who could have saved the precious lives of the trio.

Sources said that around 2000 people were present at the scene of crime when the incident took place and it is alleged that most of these men were from NCP and the CPM. It is learnt that some people from a Christian missionary group named Kashkaari were also present at the spot during the lynching of saints.

A new trend has emerged these days to attach the names of dalits or adivasis with any crime in order to hide the larger conspiracy and it seems that the same is happening in Palghar case too. In India, tribals are known for their gentle behaviour and it is tough to believe that this horrific crime was carried out by tribals.

Palghar Lok Sabha constituency has six Assembly seats, out of which three seats are with ruling Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP alliance and one seat is with CPM. It would not be wrong to say that both the ruling alliance and the CPM share the same ideology, which is against the sadhus and saffron-clad people. It would not be wrong to say that lynching of saints at Palghar was an incident of hate crime.

Many are claiming that the lyunching of sadhus was a political conspiracy because some local leaders are seen in the videos which were shot during the lyunching. A local leader identified as Kashinath Chaudhary can also be seen in one of the videos. Kashinath belongs to NCP is a member of district panchayat. According to local residents, Kashinath and three CPM leaders Vishnu Paatra, Subhash Bhavar and Dharma Bhavar were present at the spot when the sadhus were lynched by the mob. The police, however, said that Kashinath was taken to the spot by the police in order to control the rampaging mob.