Palghar Lynching:Special Court Grants Bail To 89 Accused Persons

Special judge S B Bahalkar granted bail to the 89 accused who were represented by advocates Amrut Adhikari and Atul Patil. The defence argued that their clients were arrested on mere suspicion, further questioning the validity of three FIRs being registered for one incident.

So far 251 people have been booked in the case of which 126 were charge sheeted. Several accused with serious charges continue to remain in prison. A copy of the order is yet to be made available.

The incident was given a political colour by several politicians repeatedly highlighting the religion of the men murdered. However, it was later learned that, both, the victim and the accused belonged to the same religion.

Five days before the lynching of two sadhus and their driver in Gadchinchle village on April 16, rumours of thieves, child-lifters and alleged organ-harvesters on the prowl were doing the rounds in 50 villages across Palghar. Finally on the fateful night, a mob of nearly 250-300 people sadhus Chikne Maharaj Kalpavrukshagiri (70) and Sushilgiri Maharaj (35) - and their driver Nilesh Telgade (30), 140 km north of Mumbai.

The prosecution was represented by Special public prosecutor Satish Maneshinde while advocate PN Ojha represented the families of the Sadhus. Manishinde said that most of the accused granted bail on Saturday, were arrested subsequently. The case has now been posted for hearing on February 15.