Palghar: Sadhus held hostage, rescued by police after villagers mistake them for child lifters

Palghar: Sadhus held hostage, rescued by police after villagers mistake them for child lifters

One of the villagers informed the police after which the authorities went to the village and initiated an investigation

Pankaj S RautUpdated: Tuesday, April 04, 2023, 07:33 PM IST
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Palghar: Sadhus, held hostage, rescued by police after villagers mistake them for child lifters | FPJ

Palghar: Villagers of Chandranagar in Palghar mistook two Sadhus visiting the village on April 2, as child lifters and held them hostage.

One of the villagers informed the police after which the authorities went to the village and initiated an investigation. The probe has revealed that the Sadhus were no criminals and indeed just Sadhus who visit different villages everyday seeking help, Palghar SP Balasaheb Patil informed.

Sadhus being escorted out of the area in police vehicle

Sadhus being escorted out of the area in police vehicle | FPJ

Police pacify villagers

Two Sadhus who were mendicants (bhikshus) were on a religious mission, walking door to door in the Chandranagar Vanai area on April 2 in Vangoan in Palghar District. At around 1130 am few villagers suspected them of thieves who had come to lift children. The news went viral in the surrounding area which resulted in the mob getting furious. The mob had surrounded the Sadhus but the police who were at the site in time pacified the crowd and made a safe exit of the Sadhus from that area.

After the bad memories of the Gadchinchale mob lynching of the sadhus, the SP of Palghar Balasaheb Patil started “Jansavad Abhiyan”, a mechanism where one police were assigned the responsibility of one village. The police are supposed to be in contact with villagers to maintain law and order as well as to avoid mob lynching like situated. In the Chandranagar incident, a local named Hareshwar Ghute alerted the police of the alarming situation which made swift action of the police.

April 2020 incident

On April 16 2020 two sadhus along with a vehicle driver were lynched by a furious mob as they mistook the identities of the Sadhus as thieves of children. The Sadhus were on the way to attend the funeral of their Guru who had passed in Gujarat. The Covid restrictions denied direct entry into Gurajat without proper papers making these Sadhus try some options to cross borders through remote ways. This option landed the vehicle landing in Gadchinchale in the border area of Palghar district which resulted in the death of all three travellers.

Name of the Sadhus:

Bapunath Satavji Shegar (Age 44)

Premnath Satavji Shegar (Age 40)

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