The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Maharashtra Government to file details of the inquiry against Police personnel in the lynching of two seers (Sadhus) in Palghar in April. Also, the charge-sheets filed for the court, adjourning the hearing to August 28.
The bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and R Subhash Reddy was hearing through video-conferencing a petition filed by Mahant Shradhananad Saraswati and six other sadhus of the Shri Panch Dashban Juna Akhara, Ghanshyam Upadhyay and the relatives of the deceased seers, seeking CBI and NIA probe into the investigation of the Palghar lynching case alleging bias in the present investigation by the state authorities.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had suggested that the charge-sheets should be filed before the court and "let the court decide whether it’s relevant or not." He told the Court that the media reports suggest that the charge-sheets run into more than 10,000 pages. “Whether there were any policemen involved in the offence, or was there any dereliction of duty calling for disciplinary action has to be considered,” he said.
On April 16, a vigilante group lynched two Hindu sadhus and their driver in Gadchinchale village, Palghar. The incident was fuelled by WhatsApp rumours of thieves operating in the area during the countrywide coronavirus lockdown. The Juna Akhara lawyer said the sadhus were virtually handed over to the mob for the "massacre.”
Maharashtra government informed the court that two charge-sheets have already been filed with the court in the case. A third charge-sheet will be filed by Monday, relating to the attack on policemen, when they went to arrest the accused persons.
