The lynching of three men in Palghar district of Maharashtra last week during lockdown triggered a political slugfest and accusations of projecting it with communal overtones on Monday as the state government vowed to bring those behind the mob attack to book.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to take action against those giving communal colour to the lynching incident.
The state government has already ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident that took place on the night of April 16 when three Mumbai residents who were on their way to Surat in Gujarat in a car were lynched by villagers in Palghar district on the suspicion that they were thieves.
State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh earlier warned against giving any communal colour to the incident, as two of the three deceased were believed to be seers.
In a video message in Mumbai, Thackeray said he received a call on Monday from Shah who himself said there is no communal angle to the mob lynching incident in Palghar, located adjoining Mumbai.
"I have urged him to initiate action against those who are giving a communal twist to the Palghar mob lynching, which is factually incorrect. I also informed him that my government is definitely going to take action against the perpetrators," Thackeray said.
Inspector General of Police (CID) Atulchandra Kulkarni will head the probe into the lynching incident, he said.
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Thackeray said the three men lynched by the mob seemed to be victims of some rumour and there is no communal background to the incident.
"As per my information, the seers were on their way to Surat in Gujarat during the lockdown. They were stopped by the Dadra and Nagar Haveli police and sent back to Maharashtra, he said.
As they took an internal route passing through Gadchindhali village, they were stopped by locals who suspected them to be a gang of thieves stealing children, the chief minister said, adding police vehicles were also attacked by the mob.
"Over 110 people have been arrested so far from Palghar, including five main accused. Two police officials have been suspended for dereliction of duty, he said.
Out of the total accused, nine are juvenile and they have been sent to a remand home, Thackeray said.
"I have informed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who had called seeking details about the incident," he said.
Deshmukh earlier said the attackers and the victims are not from different religions.
The deceased were identified by the police as Chikne Maharaj Kalpavrukshagiri (70), Sushilgiri Maharaj (35), and their car driver Nilesh Telgade (30).
Palghar Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh ordered suspension of Kasa police station's assistant inspector Anandrao Kale and sub-inspector Sudhir Katare for alleged dereliction of duty, a police source said.
In New Delhi, the Congress accused the BJP of playing politics on the lynching incident and said the saffron party's attempts at politicising and communalising the issue were shameful.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the incident is extremely unfortunate and his party unequivocally condemns it.
"There is no communal or Hindu-Muslim angle to the attack as is being sought to be projected by those, who see an opportunity in every such incident to inflame communal passion. We urge all such persons and groups including political parties and a section of the media to desist from doing so," Surjewala said in a statement.
"Tragically, the BJP and its ecosystem as also a section of media are attempting to project the incident with communal overtones. These attempts to politicise are deeply shameful and must be rejected with the contempt they deserve," he said.
Surjewala said the Congress has urged Thackeray to ensure an expeditious trial and punishment for the guilty.
Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh accused the BJP of playing politics on the Palghar incident.
"I think the BJP is playing politics at a very very disturbing moment in our society's history," Ramesh told journalists at a press conference held online.
In Mumbai, the Congress on Monday alleged that majority of the people arrested for the lynching incident district were members of the BJP.
State Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant also accused the BJP of playing "communal politics" to derive a political mileage from the incident.
The saffron party has refuted the charge of giving communal colour to the mob attack and demanded a probe into the police in the incident.
In the wake of the incident, several BJP leaders slammed the Shiv Sena-led coalition government--also comprising the Congress and the NCP--for the "administrative" failure to protect the Hindu seers.
BJP leader Pravin Darekar said his party was not communalising the incident and was only speaking about "failure" of the police and the home department.
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