Four sadhus from an ‘akhaada’ in Uttar Pradesh who were on their way from Karnataka’s Bijapur to the temple town of Pandharpur were allegedly beaten up by a mob on suspicion of being child-lifters, police said, adding that no formal complaint has been received in this regard and an investigation is underway based on a video that has gone viral on social media platforms.
The incident occurred on Tuesday at Lavana village in Sangli district of Maharashtra. A video of the incident shows a group of men, armed with sticks, beating the four sadhus clad in saffron robes outside a general store.
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According to news agency PTI, the incident occurred when the sadhus stopped at a temple in the Lavana village and asked a local boy for directions to Pandharpur as they readied to resume their journey. However, an argument ensued which soon escalated into an assault.
The police, however, said that they are yet to receive a formal complaint in this regard. “We have not received any complaint or formal report, but are looking into the viral videos and verifying the facts. Necessary action to be taken,” Sangli SP Dikshit Gedam told news agency ANI.
According to PTI, the police have identified the sadhus as members of an ‘akhada’ in Uttar Pradesh.
The incident soon turned into a political row with the Opposition questioning the BJP and the Maharashtra government. Terming the incident “unfortunate”, the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena sought to know how many BJP leaders will visit Sangli.
Shiv Sena spokesperson Anand Dube, terming the assault as an attempt to murder the sadhus, said the government should either clarify if it is with the Hindus or stop pretending that they are “Hinduvadi”.
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“While the government claims to be pro-Hindu and that it protects Hindus, sadhus are being assaulted in Sangli. It was easy to level allegations when we were in power – that our government was anti-Hindu. The government must take cognizance and take stern action against the accused,” he said.
The BJP, on its part, has promised strict action in the incident and said that the state government will not tolerate such “misbehaviour” with the sadhus.
“In the sadhus killing case in Palghar, then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s government meted out injustice to them. But the current Maharashtra government will not allow any injustice against any sadhu,” Maharashtra BJP MLA Ram Kadam said referring to the 2020 incident.