Purulia/West Bengal: In an incident where three sadhus were attacked by a mob, suspecting them as kidnappers, in West Bengal's Purulia district, 12 people were arrested. The sadhus were going to the Gangasagar Mela in West Bengal, India Today reported.
The arrestees were to be brought before a court in the district.
The sadhus were a man and his two sons, and they hired a vehicle to reach Gangasagar for the Makar Sankranti festival. When they were asking people about the route, some locals became suspicious, and a crowd formed which accused the trio of kidnapping. They assaulted the sadhus after.
Reports state that what made the crowd suspicious was the trio asking three teenage girls for the route. The girls got scared and screamed, it is learned. The onlookers thought that the trio were harassing the girls.
The mob also vandalized a police vehicle, which was featured in a video that was filmed from the spot.
It was the local police who rescued the sadhus and took them to Kashipurt Police Station. The police said that a case has been registered and an investigation has been initiated. Raids were also launched to capture those involved in the assault of the sadhus.
Police said that they arranged a transport for the sadhus to reach Gangasagar Mela.
Following the incident, West Bengal BJP condemned it and lashed out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
BJP's IT Cell head and party leader Amitn Maviya wrote on X, "Shame on Mamata Banerjee's deafening silence! Are these Hindu Sadhus not worthy of your acknowledgment? The atrocity demands accountability." He also reposted a video of the incident.