Palghar Lynching Case: 11 Accused Test Positive For COVID-19

11 accused, who were among the 160 arrested for their involvement in the Palghar mob lynching case, tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, according to media reports. The accused were in a lock-up with 6 others and have reportedly been shifted to a hospital.

The test results of the 6 others who were in the same lock-up, are awaited. Earlier, 2 other accused in the case also tested positive for COVID-19.

All the policemen who came in contact with them are also said to have been sent to a quarantine facility.

Two Sadhus and their driver who were travelling to Surat in Gujarat were lynched by a large mob of about 150-200 villagers on the night of April 16. The incident sparked widespread outrage and evoked all-round condemnation. The brutal lynching also acquired political overtones as the opposition BJP in the state attacked the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government on the incident.

The Maharashtra government entrusted the probe into the case to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Petitions were subsequently filed in the Supreme Court seeking a CBI/NIA probe into the lynching incident.

The petitioners contended that the Maharashtra CID could not carry out an impartial investigation into the case and that the probe team was a part of the same state police force. The apex court issued notices to the Centre, the Maharashtra government, CBI and NIA, in the case. The matter is pending in the Supreme Court.