With the entire country fighting day and night to overcome the Coronavirus pandemic, there are people who trying to create further panic instead of helping the governments in these testing times. In one such similar barbaric incident, a group of villagers killed three in a brutal incident of ‘mistaken identity’.

In a ruthless turn of events on Thursday night, two saints were beaten to death by villagers in Palghar, which is just around 130 kms away from Mumbai.

What exactly happened….

Two local religious leaders from Kandivali, who were going to Silvassa in an SUV being driven by a hired driver, were stopped on April 16 and attacked by a mob of over 100 people in the Gadchinchale village in Palghar. With sticks, iron rods and their bare hands, the mob beat the trio to death and also attacked a police team that tried to rescue the victims.The three were dragged out of their car and beaten to death with sticks by a mob on suspicion that they were thieves.

Indicating that the three men were attacked as a result of mistaken identity, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said the villagers heard rumours about the presence of thievesstealing children in the area and thought they were the culprits. “Don’t make it communal. There is no communal angle involved,” he said.

A tweet from the Chief Minister’s Office read: “Those trying to inflame passions, must desist from doing so. There is no Hindu-Muslim angle or communalism in this attack. Two policemen were suspended immediately.”

Thackeray has even urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to take action against those giving communal colour to the incident.

Action being taken

Palgarh Police have arrested 110 people including 9 juveniles, in connection with the lynching. Uddhav Thackeray has said stern action will be taken against those involved in the lynching.The State government has ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident that took place on April 16.

The investigation into the lynching, has been transferred to the Maharashtra Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Meanwhile, two officers with the Palghar Police were suspended on Monday and a departmental enquiry initiated.

Some more details..

The deceased were identified as Chikne Maharaj Kalpavrukshagiri (70), Sushilgiri Maharaj (35), and their car driver Nilesh Telgade (30).

Three people including two sadhus were travelling from Mumbai to Surat in a Maruti Eco car to attend the funeral of their guruji on Thursday. However, they were stopped at the Gujarat border and asked to return. But they didn’t go back and instead took a route through interiors of a village near Palghar. They had to return to Maharashtra and were trying to take another route when they got attacked.

Shocking visuals from Gadchinchale village show locals armed with sticks and stones, attacking a police team as they tried to rescue the men. In one of several videos of the assault, the 70-year-old can be seen begging for his life.