Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday denied a communal angle in the lynching of three men in Palghar, saying that it was a clear case of misunderstanding and over 100 suspects, including the five main accused, were arrested.

"Please don't give this a communal colour. The people who are doing it must understand that mob lynchings have happened even before, not just elsewhere, but in Maharashtra too. We also know the reasons for those killings but I don't want to discuss that because I don't want to politicise the issue," he said in a webcast on Monday, adding that such incidents were unfortunate when the state is fighting the Coronavirus pandemic.