Have agreed to CBI probe into Palghar lynching case: Maharashtra to SC

The Maharashtra government Friday told the Supreme Court that it has already recommended a CBI probe into the alleged lynching of three persons in Palghar in 2020 and this led to the closure of proceedings on as many as four pending petitions on the issue.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha took note of the fresh affidavit of the state government that a communication to this effect has already been issued by it.

"In view of the decision taken by the state government, no further direction is needed on these petitions at this stage. The petitions are disposed of," the bench said.

The pleas demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), alleging that the investigation by the state police was being conducted in a biased manner.

Earlier, the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi government had opposed the plea for a CBI probe into the incident and later, with the change in dispensation in the state, it agreed to the petitions seeking investigation by the central probe agency.

Three people from Kandivali in Mumbai were travelling in a car to attend a funeral in Surat in Gujarat amid the COVID-19-induced nationwide lockdown when their vehicle was stopped and they were attacked and allegedly killed by a mob in Gadchinchile village on the night of April 16, 2020 in the presence of police.

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