Palghar lynchings: Thane Court grants bail to 89 accused

Palghar (Maharashtra), Jan. Jan 16 : A Thane Special Court on Saturday granted bail to 89 accused in the April 2020 Palghar lynching case of two sadhus and their driver, a lawyer said here.
After hearing the arguments by Special Public Prosecutor Satish Maneshinde and defense counsels, Amrut Adhikari and Atul Patil on Jan. 6, the Special Judge S. B. Bahalkar allowed bail of Rs.15,000 each to the 89 accused.
Till date, the state CID has arrested 251 adults and 16 juveniles on various charges of rioting, attempt to murder, murder, etc for the lynching incident that sparked nationwide outrage on April 16 last year, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.
Till date, a total of 176 adults and 11 juveniles have been enlarged on bail while the bail applications of 36 more were rejected.
Arguing for bail last week, Adv. Adhikari contended that although the 89 accused were present at the scene of the crime, they had no role in the lynching tragedy.
On the fateful night of April 16 last year, two Sadhus – Kalpavrikshagiri Maharaj, 70, and his assistant Sushilgiri Maharaj, 35, besides their driver Nilesh Telgade, 30, were were proceeding from Kandivali suburb of Mumbai to attend a funeral in Surat, Gujarat.