Palghar and Bulandshahr incidents shouldn't be compared: Kokje

International president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Vishnu Sadashiv Kokje, on Thursday said that the lynching of two seers in Maharashtra and killing of as many priests in Uttar Pradesh are incidents of different nature and hence they should not be compared. Two sadhus and their driver were lynched on April 16 in Palghar district of Maharashtra while they were on their way to a funeral in neighboring Silvassa.

Days later, two priests were found murdered at a temple in Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday morning (April 28), allegedly killed by local youth. Talking to PTI, Kokje said, "In Palghar, the violent mob lynched two saints in the presence of police, while in Bulandshahr, a person killed two seers while they were sleeping in a temple. It clearly reflects that both these incidents are of different nature and therefore, it is not proper to compare them." "The incident in Maharashtra (that happened) before the police raise a question mark over the law and order situation in the state," Kokje, a former judge in the high courts of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, said.

He added that attempts were being made to link the Palghar incident with rumors about child-lifters. "This incident should be deeply probed," he said.