- Question
Were Indian police complicit in the Palghar lynching?
On 16 April 2020, two Hindu priests and their driver were killed. This happened after the men were stopped by a crowd of men at a checkpoint amid coronavirus lockdown, accused of being thieves or child kidnappers, and then taken away and killed. The presence of the police at the scene has caused a debate about their role in the killings.
Position 1 of 2
Read this position →Yes, the police were complicit in the Palghar lynching
Reports say that police did little to aid the victim who was being attacked by the mobsters. It was easy for the attackers to drag the victim out of police custody.
Position 2 of 2
Read this position →No, the police were not complicit in the Palghar lynching
This position holds that Indian police were not complicit in the Palghar lynching. It argues officers did not arrange the killings and in fact tried to stop them, framing the incident within a wider pattern of 'WhatsApp lynchings' across India.