'Sadhus Asked Girls…,' TMC Plays Up Kidnapping Card, Says Attackers Rescued Girls

Purulia: After three sadhus (Hindu saints) were assaulted by a mob while they were on their way to Gangasagar, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused the sadhus of trying to kidnap girls, alleging that this led to the entire fiasco. The TMC said that the mob assaulted the sadhus in order to save the girls from a kidnapping bid. The Purulia Superintendent of Police also tried to play down the incident saying that the incident happened due to language misunderstanding. 

TMC accuses sadhus of kidnapping 

In order to attack the Opposition BJP which is demanding a thorough inquiry in the issues, TMC leader Shashi Panja said, “The locals beat up the three sadhus because their allegation is that sadhus were kidnapping three girls from there. Local people reacted and rescued the girls.”

"BJP always has evaded accountability. Police took sadhus to the police station. An investigation is on, but BJP leaders in Purulia are trying to misrepresent and malign the whole incident,” the TMC leader said. 

Purulia Police’s bid to play down 

Aligning with the same narrative, Purulia Superintendent of Police, Avijit Banerjee said, “ hree saints were going in a vehicle...Near Gourangdih, three girls were heading to a local Kali mandir for pooja when the car stopped near them and the Sadhus asked them something. Due to some language issues, some misunderstandings happened and the girls thought that the Sadhus were following them...The local public came and took the Sadhus near Durga Mandir and vandalised their car.” 

12 people have been detained in the matter by the Purulia police.  The victims, a father and his two sons, were on their way to Gangasagar Mela when a mob attacked them, as per police reports. The incident, captured in a viral video, has sparked outrage nationwide, with some equating it to the incident in Palghar, Maharashtra, where Sadhus were attacked and lynched by a mob.