West Bengal: 12 arrested in connection with ‘sadhus assault’ brought to Raghunathpur Sub-Divisional Court

Twelve individuals were hauled before the Raghunathpur Sub-Divisional Court in the district on Saturday, after their detention in relation to the attack on three Sadhus (ascetics) in Purulia, West Bengal.

Earlier in the day, Purulia Superintendent of Police (SP), Avijit Banerjee, said that a complaint had been filed and that 12 individuals had been detained in relation to the attack of sadhus.

“A case has been started based on the Sadhus’ complaint. An investigation is ongoing, and thus far, 12 persons have been taken into custody. For further inquiry, we have placed a few individuals into police arrest,” the SP said.

According to Banerjee, the Sadhus received all assistance from the police, and their car was fixed.

“Police hurried to the scene after learning of the incident. The Sadhus received all support available from the Police. The vandalized car was fixed,” he said.

The SP described the situation and added that the three girls’ inability to grasp their language caused a misunderstanding that resulted in the whole incident.

“Three Sadhus were traveling in a car along Kasipur Road towards Chakna. Three ladies were on their way to do pooja at a nearby Kali mandir in Gourangdih when a vehicle pulled up next to them and the Sadhus asked them a question. Misunderstandings arose due to linguistic barriers, leading the girls to believe that the Sadhus were pursuing them. Thus, they raised a ruckus. The Sadhus were taken by the locals to the area of Durga Mandir, where they vandalized their vehicle. They also manhandled the Sadhus. Police responded immediately to the scene after learning of the incident, according to the SP.

In a statement on the event, the Purulia Police claimed that elements of the story were being “misrepresented” by “certain quarters”.

Certain sections are misrepresenting the facts about a recent event that happened in Purulia. The truth is that three Gangasagar-bound Sadhus and three local young girls at Kashipur got into a verbal argument in the afternoon of January 11, 24 due to a language barrier. As the girls became frightened, locals allegedly attempted an abduction and physically assaulted the Sadhus, causing damage to their vehicles. With swift action, local police came to the Sadhus’ aid. Based on a particular instance, 12 persons have been detained in relation to the event. The sadhus received all support conceivable,” the statement said.

One of the Sadhus said that they were attacked when a sizable throng unexpectedly halted their automobile.

Madhur Goswami, one of the sadhus, claimed, “We were on our way to Gangasagar when suddenly our car was stopped by a large mob that assaulted us and vandalized our car.”

About 200–300 individuals assaulted them, according to Goswami, who was speaking about the number of attackers. We suffered a knockout.”

Regarding the girls’ accusations, he said, “Nothing like that happened.” They came to express regret. We said that we could have made a mistake and now needed to confront this.

BJP MP Jyotirmay Singh Mahato visited the Sadhus who had been attacked by the crowd in Purulia earlier in the day. Mahato said that Sheikh Anwar was the mastermind of the affair and that, upon seeing the sadhus’s saffron dress, he had gathered the villagers.

There is a hint of Palghar in Maharashtra in this occurrence. Some well-known names may surface if this event is looked into. Sheikh Anwar is the one who started this tragedy. This information was obtained from regional sources. He stirred up the peasants and gathered them when he saw that they were dressed in saffron,” Mahato said.

The head of the BJP further said that an attempt was made by the police to hide the occurrence.”Police attempted to conceal the event when they had any indication that it may take a different turn. When the sadhus went to bed at night, the townspeople attempted to force them to flee via the back door. I brought them here after saving them. We shall bid them farewell to Gangasagar tomorrow,” he said.

“A leader in the Trinamool party tweeted about this occurrence. He has claimed that these Sadhus are woman traffickers and operatives of the BJP. He was the subject of a complaint that we have filed against him “.

TMC chief Shashi Panja, however, said that the Purulia BJP is attempting to distort the incident’s facts. According to the TMC leader, the villagers alleged that the sadhus were on route to abduct three females from their hamlet.

BJP in Purulia, however, is attempting to distort the events that took place in Purulia on January 11. In Purulia, there were three Sadhus working at the Kashipur police station. The three sadhus were beaten up by the townspeople, who claimed the sadhus had abducted three village females. Reacting, the locals saved the girls. Sadhus was brought to the police station by cops. While an inquiry is underway, Panja said that Purulia BJP leaders are attempting to distort and discredit the whole situation.