Palghar Sadhus rescue brings back horrific memories of April 2020 Gadchinchale mob lynching

Palghar: The recent incident wherein Palghar police rescued two Sadhus from Chandranagar village after villagers mistook them for child lifters, brought back horrors from Palghar that occurred in April 2020 during the lockdown phase.

Two Sadhus and their driver were beaten to death by a vigilante group based on WhatsApp rumours of thieves operating in the area. Policemen who had intervened were also attacked and injured in the incident.

April 2020 incident

Three persons from Kandivali in Mumbai were travelling in a car to attend a funeral in Surat, Gujarat amid the COVID-19-induced nationwide lockdown when their vehicle was stopped and they were attacked and killed allegedly by a mob in Gadchinchale village on the night of April 16, 2020, in the presence of police. 

The victims were identified as Chikne Maharaj Kalpavrukshagiri, 70, Sushil Giri Maharaj, 35, and Nilesh Telgade, 30, who was driving the vehicle.

The state government recently approached the Supreme Court seeking a CBI probe into the lynching.

Incident averted due to 'Jan Samvad': Police

Police said the tension was diffused on time due to their 'Jan Samvad' initiative that they had launched after the lynching at Gadchinchale village in the district in April 2020. 

Under the initiative, policemen visit villages and interact with the locals to build trust and improve coordination, the official said. 

"We have also deployed a policeman in each of the villages who interacts with the locals and solves a lot of their problems on the spot. Some matters are referred to the higher-up," said the official.

"It was due to our Jan Samvad initiative, we were alerted on time and the unpleasant situation was averted. We do not want a repetition of the Gadchinchale incident," he added.