Palghar lynching:Police launch drive to win trust of villagers

Deputy superintendent of police, Dahanu, Mandar Dharmadhikari on Monday said the "Vishwas Abhiyan" or drive has been yielding positive results. "It has helped in reducing complaints against the police.

In the wake of lynching of three persons in Gadchinchale village in Maharashtra's Palghar in April and subsequent arrest of many villagers, police are now trying to build rapport with tribal residents in the district. Deputy superintendent of police, Dahanu, Mandar Dharmadhikari on Monday said the "Vishwas Abhiyan" or drive has been yielding positive results.

"It has helped in reducing complaints against the police. The concepts of 'Police Mitra' and 'Dakshata Samiti' have also helped to a largeextent. In many cases, women are confiding in the 'police mitras' (friends of police)," he said while addressing a workshop of Shramjeevi Sanghatna. Two sadhus and their driver were lynched by a mob in Gadchinchale village in Dahanu taluka when the trio were travelling in a car to Surat on April 16 on suspicion of being thieves cum child-lifters in the presence of police personnel, who were outnumbered.

The probe was later handed over to the state Crime Investigation Department (CID). The government had also replaced then superintendent of police Gaurav Singh with Dattatreya Shinde, who has launched the 'Vishwas Abhiyan'.

Talking about the drive, Dharmadhikari said several youths have volunteered to assist the police and have started informing about law and order issues in the village. He said in-charges of police stations as well as senior officers keep communicating with villagers by visiting the village to win their trust.