2020 Palghar mob lynching

On the night of 16 April 2020, a vigilante group of villagers in Gadchinchale, Palghar district, Maharashtra, attacked and killed two Hindu Sadhus and their driver, mistaking them for thieves. The three men — Chikne Maharaj Kalpavrukshagiri (70), Sushilgiri Maharaj (35), both Sadhus of the Juna Akhara sect, and their 30-year-old driver Nilesh Telgade — were travelling to attend the funeral of their Guru, Shri Mahant Ramgiri, in Surat. As they passed through Gadchinchale, roughly 140 km north of Mumbai, their car was stopped at a checkpoint by a forest department sentry. While they were speaking with the sentry, a vigilante group accosted and attacked them with sticks and axes.

The killings occurred against a backdrop of rumours, spread via WhatsApp, that a gang of child thieves or organ harvesters was active in the area at night during India's nationwide coronavirus lockdown. Villagers had formed a vigilante group in response to these rumours, and when the victims' vehicle arrived after dark, they were mistaken for members of the rumoured gang. Police who attempted to intervene were also attacked; four policemen and a senior police officer were injured. Bystander videos that circulated widely from 19 April showed one of the victims being led by a police officer before being set upon by the mob, and showed a police patrol vehicle being vandalised and overturned.

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said 101 people were arrested within eight hours of the incident, including nine juveniles; by 4 May 2020, the total number of villagers arrested on murder charges had risen to 115. Two police officers were suspended pending an inquiry into alleged negligence on duty. All accused were reported to be residents of Vikramgad Taluka and Gadchinchale village in Dahanu Taluka, within Palghar district. On 22 April, Deshmukh published a full list of those arrested and stated that none were Muslim, and the state government said both the attackers and the victims were of the same religion, pushing back against attempts by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to characterise the incident as a Hindu-Muslim issue.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said those responsible would be brought to justice, transferring the case to the state's Criminal Investigation Department under Additional Director General Atulchandra Kulkarni, and pledged a speedy trial along with investigation into those who spread the underlying rumours online. The incident drew nationwide outrage after videos went viral on 19 April, prompting criticism of the Maharashtra government from opposition figures including former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The Mahamandaleshwar of Juna Akhara, Mahant Hari Giri, demanded swift action against those responsible, including police. The National Human Rights Commission of India requested a report from the Maharashtra police chief on action taken and any relief provided to victims' relatives.