After the police issued a statement clarifying that the incident took place as a result of a “misunderstanding” between the seers and “three local minor girls” and involved kidnapping allegations, the TMC responded sharply to the BJP.

The video was posted on X, formerly Twitter, by the BJP’s IT cell head Amit Malviya on Friday, saying, “Absolutely shocking incident reported from Purulia in West Bengal. In a Palghar kind lynching, sadhus traveling to Gangasagar for Makar Sankranti, were stripped and beaten by criminals, affiliated with the ruling TMC. In Mamata Banerjee’s regime, a terrorist like Shahjahan Sheikh gets state protection and sadhus are being lynched. It is a crime to be a Hindu in West Bengal. #SaveBengal”

Commenting on Malviya’s post, the West Bengal BJP’s handle posted, “Shame on Mamata Banerjee’s deafening silence! Are these Hindu Sadhus not worthy of your acknowledgment? The atrocity demands accountability.”

However, the Purulia police said in a statement, “Facts are being misrepresented from certain quarters about a recent incident in Purulia. The fact is, on 11.01.24 afternoon, there was a misunderstanding between three Gangasagar-bound sadhus with three local minor girls near Kashipur over language problem. The girls got scared and local people manhandled the sadhus and damaged their vehicle, alleging a kidnapping attempt.”

“Local police promptly intervened and rescued the sadhus. 12 people have been arrested over the incident on the basis of a specific case. All possible assistance was rendered to the sadhus,” the police added.

Reacting to the development, TMC leader Sashi Panja said, “BJP leaders are falling back on their age-old practice of spreading rumours and trying to make that a political incident.”