In an incident that has sent shockwaves across the country, three men, including two sadhus, were lynched to death by a mob of hundreds of men in Maharashtra.

The incident took place outside Gandchinchle village of Maharashtra’s Palghar district on 16 April. It is being said that the mob took the victims to be ‘child thieves’.

Chikane Maharaj Kalpavrikshgiri (70) and Sushil Giri Maharaj (35) belonged to the revered Varanasi-based Shri Panch Dashnam Juna Akhara. The third victim, Nilesh Telgane (35) was a driver. The three were on their way to a funeral in Gujarat.

Although the incident was covered by regional as well as prominent English dailies in Mumbai editions, it did not draw national attention until two related videos surfaced on social media two days later.

The videos not only showed how horrific the act by the mob of around 200 men was, they also raised questions on claims made by Maharashtra police before the videos came to light.

Here is what the police told various publications before the videos surfaced:

In a report published in Hindustan Times on 18 April, assistant police inspector (API) at Kasa police station, Anandrao Kale, was quoted as saying that the police tried to save the victims but could not succeed as the mob was strong and targeted them.

“The mob was strong and we tried to save the passengers but it also targeted us and started to pelt stones while beating them and as a result, the trio succumbed to their injuries,” Kale was quoted as saying by the newspaper.