RSS chief on Palghar lynching: What were cops doing?

Nagpur: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday slammed the Palghar lynching in which two sadhus were killed, saying there is no place for violence in society.

It was the responsibility of the administration to keep law and order in check, Bhagwat said in an online address to workers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

“Sanyasis (saints) who pray for the well-being of humanity were brutally killed in Palghar. What was the police doing? Such an incident should not have happened,” he said.

The sadhus were messengers of humanity and were following the religion they believed in, he said.

Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha has appealed for offering tributes to the two saints on April 28, Bhagwat said. “The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has also laid out a programme for the same. We will all join in offering our tribute to them,” he added.

Community leaders should tell people not to be angry and get misled, he said. There are anti-India forces who are waiting to use this to break the country, he added.

The two sadhus and their driver were lynched on April 16 in Palghar district while they were on their way to a funeral in neighbouring Silvassa.

Amid politics over the lynching, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh later said there was no Muslim among the 101 persons arrested in connection with the incident.