In Maharashtra’s Sangli district on Tuesday, four sadhus were attacked by a mob on the grounds that they were kidnappers; a video of the incident has since gone viral. The incident happened in the district’s Lavana village. A group of onlookers witnessed the crowd thrashing the sadhus outside a grocery store while they were armed with sticks.
According to news agency PTI, citing the police, the four sadhus from Uttar Pradesh asked a boy for directions as they travelled from Bijapur in Karnataka to the temple town of Pandharpur. This prompted the locals to speculate that they might be members of a gang that abducts children.
The event happened after the victims had stopped at a temple in Lavana village, according to the report, which also added that they had gotten into a disagreement after asking the child for directions, which progressed to the assault. According to the report, the sadhus were discovered by the police to be members of a ‘akhada’ in Uttar Pradesh.
Ram Kadam, a member of the Maharashtra BJP, condemned the incident and stated that the state government will not put up with such “misbehaviour” with the sadhus. He stated in a video message that the accused would face strict action.
