Supreme Court asks Maharashtra Police to place fresh Charge Sheet Regarding Palghar lynching case

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court asked the Maharashtra police to record the second supplemental charge sheet filed in the case involving the alleged lynching of three people, including two psychics, in the Palghar district in April last year.

The Maharashtra government attorney informed a court of Justices Ashok Bhushan and RS Reddy that a second supplemental charge sheet had been filed in the case. The bank said the new charge sheet will be placed before it on record in two weeks and the matter will be released for an additional hearing thereafter.

On 7 September last year, the Maharashtra police had informed the high court that they had punished the “rogue” policemen for breach of duty in the case.

On August 6 last year, the high court had asked the Maharashtra police to inform it of the investigation and the actions taken against the errant police personnel in the case.

The Maharashtra police had said that up to 18 criminal police officers have received different punishments and some of them have been dismissed from the service and some of them have been forcibly removed.

Some rogue police officers have also been punished with pay cuts, he said, adding that the state’s criminal investigation department has so far filed two charge sheets in the alleged lynching case.

On June 11 last year, the high court had sought a response from the state government on two petitions seeking a separate investigation by the CBI and the NIA into the alleged lynching.

The court was hearing petitions, including that filed by the sadhus of ‘Shri Panch Dashban Juna Akhara’ and relatives of the deceased seers.

His statement alleged that the state police investigation was being conducted in a biased manner.

The other motive, which seeks an NIA investigation into the incident, has been brought forward by attorney Ghanshyam Upadhyay.

In addition to the Maharashtra government, one of the petitions has listed the Center, CBI, and the Maharashtra Police Director-General as respondents in the matter.

The three victims of Kandivali in Mumbai were traveling in a car to attend a funeral in Surat in Gujarat amid the COVID-19 induced national lockdown when their vehicle was stopped and they were attacked and killed by a mob in the village of Gadchinchile the night Friday. April 16 of last year in the presence of the police.

The victims were identified as Chikne Maharaj Kalpavrukshagiri, 70, Sushil Giri Maharaj, 35, and Nilesh Telgade, 30, who was driving the vehicle.

While hearing a separate statement seeking an IWC investigation into the case, on May 1 the high court ordered the Maharashtra government to submit a status report on the investigation into the matter.

The guilty plea filed by ‘sadhus’ of ‘Shri Panch Dashban Juna Akhara’ has requested the transfer of the investigation to the CBI, claiming that there is a “reasonable apprehension of partiality” if the Maharashtra police continue the investigation.