A total of 110 people have been held in connection with the lynching of three men in Palghar village in Maharasthra state, police said on Monday.
The village is about 125 km from the state capital, Mumbai, India's financial capital.
Police said the three were on their way from Mumbai to attend a funeral in Surat, a city in the state of Gujarat, when their vehicle was stopped and the trio was dragged out and killed.
A video of the incident has gone viral, in which a mob of over 100 people can be seen attacking the monks and their driver with sticks, bricks and stones.
A Copmlete Failure of Law and Order, Two Sadhus Lynched Right In Front Of At Least Dozen Policemen & Officers Just Near a Police Station. Just One Fire in The Air by Police Could Have Easily Disbursed The Crowd. Why They Didn’t Do It?#PalgharMobLynching#JusticeForHinduSadhus pic.twitter.com/I4ZrxOSzeW
— Prithviraj Vanzara (@PrithvirajDV) April 20, 2020
According to police, 101 people have been arrested and are currently in 12 days police custody while nine juveniles, who were also detained, have been sent to observation homes.
"We are visiting the nearby villages and are keeping a close eye on the people who used this incident and created a communal rift," a senior police officer said, adding that they accused and deceased are from the same religion.
On Sunday, the Maharashtra government ordered an inquiry into the lynching incident and stated that the culprits won't be spared.
