3 sadhus stripped, attacked in Bengal; 12 arrested
As many as 12 people were arrested after three sadhus (holy men), on their way to the Gangasagar Mela, were stripped and thrashed brutally by a mob on Thursday in West Bengal. The incident happened in the state's Purulia district after the locals reportedly mistook the sadhus, who were from Uttar Pradesh, for kidnappers. As per reports, the accused in the case will be presented before a court in the district.
Incident details and police intervention
The sadhus, reportedly a man and his two sons, had hired a vehicle to reach Gangasagar for the Makar Sankranti festival on Sunday. When they inquired about the route, some locals became suspicious, resulting in an agitated mob accusing them of kidnapping and assaulting the sadhus. A video of the incident also showed the crowd vandalizing a vehicle that allegedly belonged to the sadhus.
Visuals of attack on UP sadhus in West Bengal
Police reveal possible reason behind attack
As the situation escalated, local police intervened to rescue the sadhus and took them to the Kasipur Police Station. According to the police, the sadhus had lost their way and had stopped to confirm the route from three girls. But the girls got scared and ran away, which prompted locals to assume that they must have tried to kidnap the girls.
12 arrested, further probe underway: Police
Commenting on the incident, Purulia Police Superintendent Avijit Banerjee said on Saturday that a case was registered based on a complaint by one of the sadhus. "12 people have been arrested so far, and an investigation is underway," the top cop told ANI during an interview. Banerjee also added that raids were being conducted to arrest others involved in the attack. Separately, the Purulia Police said that there was no communal overtone whatsoever regarding the incident.
No communal overtone: Purulia Police
Here's what victim said after incident
Speaking to the media afterward, one of the victims said that their vehicle was stopped while they were on their way to Gangasagar, and a large mob assaulted them. Addressing the kidnapping allegations, the sadhu said that the two girls apologized to them. "But I told the girls that it must have been my own sin, which is why I had to face this punishment," he added.
BJP attacks TMC over attack on sadhus in Bengal
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took aim at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Bengal government following the incident. BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya shared the video of the incident on X (formerly Twitter) and claimed that goons linked to the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) were behind the assault. The TMC, on the other hand, called the BJP's allegations "baseless" and accused the party of attempting to give the incident a communal twist.
