New Delhi: Left-wing organizations and Christian missionary groups are to be blamed for the violence and subsequent lyching of Sadhus in Palgarh district of Maharashtra, said a report by the Fact-Finding Team of Vivek Vichar Manch.
“The brutal and inhuman mob lynching of Sanyasis is the outcome of a violent approach which has been influencing the tribal community,” said the report.
In its exhaustive 149 page report, the Team shed light on many ills plaguing the region, how certain groups are spreading hatred, how some groups are inciting the tribal against establishment.
The Fact-Finding Team, which comprised of retired judges, senior police officers and lawyers also demanded that Palgarh mob lynching case should be handed over to investigative agencies like CBI or NIA so that whole truth should come out.
They agreed upon the fact that police personnel at site could have stopped the brutal killing of sadhus but they chose to remain hand in gloves, rather than stopping the genocide.
Two Juna Akhara sadhus Chikne Maharaj Kalpavrukshagiri (70) and Sushilgiri Maharaj (35) along with their 30-year-old driver, Nilesh Telgade, were lynched by a mob on 16 April at Gadchinchale village in Palghar district when they were on their way to Surat in Gujarat.
“If it were spontaneous, then how did 400-odd people assemble at the spot, what was the logistical support? The police also practically handed over the sadhus to the mob instead of stopping them,” said retired Justice Ambadas Joshi, one of the authors of the report.
“Some Christian missionary organisations are funding the organisations, which are working on Adivasis’ rights,” said advocate Pravartak Pathak, another author of the report.
After examining all aspects of the case, the Fact Finding Team of Vichar Vivek Manch has given these recommendations for probe in the brutal lynching of sanyasis in Palgarh.
Recommendations of the Committee:
1. Considering, the incident of replicating independent Adivasi area as done in Patthalgarhi, Jharkhand establishes the possibility of secret connections with the Naxalite movement. Therefore, this incident required to be
investigated through NIA.
2. The organisations spreading communal hatred and Anti-Democratic agenda with the use of violent means must be investigated through a national level investigating agency such as NIA and CBI.
3. The central agencies to which the investigation may be transferred should investigate points formulated in Paragraph No.6 of the present report.
4. We find our self to be convinced in favour of prima facie inference that the investigation should not be misdirected due to the statement of Hon’ble Chief Minister and Hon’ble Home Minister, and by deeper investigation and probe into role and involvement of individuals and institutions including Kashtakari Sanghatana, Adivasi Ekta Parishad is done. The videos and other information we came across and which we have listed must be taken into account by the central agency.
5. Real eyewitnesses must be identified and listed.
6. Witnesses must be provided due protection and security given the history of violence.
7. Innocent Adivasis should not be falsely implicated due to political nexus and because they are not amongst the followers of Adivasi Ekta Parishad and Kashtakari Sanghatana.
