Palghar lynching: Maharashtra Minister makes public list of 101 arrested

Home Minister Anil Deshmukh categorically says that none of the arrested accused are Muslim and once again appeals to not communalise the incident

Anil Deshmukh

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Wednesday made public the list of 101 accused arrested in the Palghar mob lynching of three persons, including two sadhus.

The Minister , while declaring the list, categorically said that none of the arrested accused were Muslim and once again appealed to not communalise the incident.

In a statement made on social media, he said: “Palghar mob lynching is a grotesque incident which happened due to rumours on social media about child kidnappers and thieves prowling in the area. A high-level inquiry is going on and, meanwhile, people are requested not to fall for rumours and verify the facts from trusted sources.”

“There was sound heard in the video ‘oye bas,’ and people circulated it online with some calling it ‘Shoaib bas.’ At a time when the entire State machinery is busy fighting Coronavirus, there are some people who are trying to bring communal angle into it,” he said.

Three people were lynched at the remote Gadchinchle village in Palghar district on the night of April 16. The three were trying to cross border to Gujarat and were refused entry at Dadra and Nagar Haveli union territory. The villagers stopped the car as the area was infested with rumours about a kidnappers’ gang and thieves. A mob of over hundred lynched the three.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray made a statement in the issue after opposition Bharatiya Janata Party leaders attempted to communalise the issue.