The police have so far arrested 101 people and detained nine minors. (Express Photo/File)

THE PALGHAR police have arrested 101 people and detained nine minors in connection with the lynching of three men allegedly by a mob of villagers in the district on Friday. However, though it has been three days since the incident, an inquiry is yet to be initiated into lapses on the part of local police personnel.

Senior officers had said that an inquiry would be conducted to find out what steps the police had taken to help the three victims after allegations that the police ran away from the spot. The district collector has also asked policemen to visit the village and ask people to not believe in rumours that led to the incident. It has also come to light that prior to this incident, there were three other instances of mob violence from the area due to rumours of thieves being on the prowl.

Gaurav Singh, Superintendent of Police, Palghar, said that investigations into the murders of the three men have so far been focused on identifying the sources of the rumours spread in Gadchinchle village in Dahanu taluka.

“An inquiry will soon be conducted to ascertain what precautions were taken by policemen who reached the scene and had taken the victims into the police van,” he said.

A video of the incident shows a mob dragging the deceased out of the police van and assaulting them with sticks and stones, while some police personnel are seen running away to safety instead of attempting to shield the deceased from the mob’s fury. The deceased were later identified as two sadhus — Kalpruksh Giri and Chikne Maharaj — travelling to Surat for a funeral and Nilesh Telgade, the driver of the car. However, locals in Gadchinchle villages are alleged to have mistaken them for child-kidnappers.

The police have so far arrested 101 people and detained nine minors. They adults are currently in 12-day police custody while the minors have been sent to an observation home.

Soon after the lynching, District Magistrate Kailash Shinde had promised that an inquiry would be conducted against personnel from the Kasa police station who had responded to the incident.