A fake Whatsapp message led to villagers lynching the trio last week; the police will be taking the help of drones and sniffer dogs to locate the killers hiding in the dense jungle
The mob had lynched three men in Palghar last week
The Palghar police have formed several teams — at least 40 officers in each — to conduct a combat operation to catch the absconding accused hiding in the dense forest area. Superintendent of Police, Palghar district, Gaurav Singh hinted at using technology and sniffer dogs to track down the killers. He said the teams would be combing the forest areas minutely.
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If required, we will take the help of drone cameras and the dog squad to track down the accused. They will be arrested soon as we have been working round the clock to surround them in the jungle."
He added, "We are also scanning CCTV footage to identify the accused."
The mob had overturned the car in which the three men were travelling and lynched them
Singh told mid-day that all the 110 accused arrested in the case have been given police remand till April 30. "The investigations are underway," said Singh. Talking about the missing R6 lakh cash from the possession of the deceased, Singh said, "We have no information about them carrying any cash but if the relatives and followers of the priests claim this, they can come forward and we will investigate the matter in this way, too."
Sources have told mid-day that most of the accused have left their huts in Kasa taluka and have been hiding in the forest area and mountainous terrain in the locality.
During interrogation, the accused told the Palghar police that they had received information that a child lifting gang and toddy robbers were active in the area. "They had received this fake information on WhatsApp. Our cyber cell team is also working on it to identify who triggered panic with this fake message on social media. We will track them down very soon," said an officer privy to the investigation.
The cops are also taking the help of forest officials to catch the hiding absconders.
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