Palghar incident: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut raps media for double standards on reporting killing of sadhus

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Shiv Sena chief spokesperson and Saamana editor-in-chief Sanjay Raut on October 18 lambasted the media for maintaining double standards on reporting fatal attacks on sadhus in Maharashtra while brushing aside similar incidents in other parts of the country.

Asserting the killings in Maharashtra's Palghar district in April as 'adharma (injustice), Raut claimed that the media didn't portray similar incidents in other regions of the country with the same fervour.

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"Two sadhus were murdered by a mob in Palghar and this incident created a furore in the country. In the last four days, four sadhus were killed in UP and one in Rajasthan. In Rajasthan, a priest was burned to death. Nothing happened," NDTV quoted Raut as saying in Saamana.

"The media is in such a situation that when the Palghar incident took place it is 'adharma' and if this happens in other places then it is just an incident. How is this possible?" Raut wrote in the party mouthpiece.

The Shiv Sena was hitting out at the media while citing examples of priests attacked in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Before Raut, Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi also had hit out at the media after the Palghar attack in April. She had even claimed that "factless (and) hate-inducing debates" were aired by some media channels.

In April, two sadhus were beaten to death by a mob after rumours spread that they were kidnapping children to harvest organs.

Following the Palghar incident, the Maharashtra government led by CM Uddhav Thackeray faced heavy criticism. Several petitions were filed in the Supreme Court -- all alleging police inaction and seeking a CBI probe.

The Maharashtra police had arrested men accused of the killing and CM Thackeray stated that Union Home Minister knows there is 'no communal angle'. The Maharashtra CID filed a charge sheet against 126 accused in July.