The Shiv Sena has claimed about the double standards by the media on its response to the attacks on sadhus, alleging that deaths were portrayed as “adharma” (injustice) when they happen in Maharashtra but are brushed off as “incidents” elsewhere.

The incident is about the killing of two sadhus in Palghar district , Maharashtra, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that similar incidents have occurred in other parts of the country but they were not viewed in the same light as that of this incident.

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MP Sanjay Raut in an editorial in the party’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said, “Two sadhus were murdered by a mob in Palghar and this incident created a furore in the country. In the last four days, four sadhus were killed in UP and one in Rajasthan. In Rajasthan, the priest was burned to death. Nothing happened,”

He asked, “The media is in such a situation that when the Palghar incident took place it is “adharma” and if this happens in other places then it is just an incident. How is this possible?”

The recent incidents of Rajasthan were a priest died of burn injuries after he was attacked by a group of men over land issues. The police have detained two men and named three others in the FIR.

In Uttar Pradesh Gonda district, which has been now said to be a conspiracy hatched by the priest himself. In this incident, the police said that the priest had hired a professional killer to injure him in an attempt to blame the incident on a political rival.

Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi had claimed that ‘factless (and) hate-inducing debates’ were being aired by some media channels after the Palghar incident.

In Palghar, two sadhus were beaten to death by a mob after rumours they were kidnapping children to harvest organs.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut referred Prime Minister Narendra Modi as ‘Krishna’ and Home Minister Amit Shah as ‘Arjuna’ and said, “The rulers who are presented today as Krishna and Arjuna – Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. They are expected to do the work of establishing “dharma”, to overcome the crisis before the country.”

The Palghar incident sparked a political row and Maharastra’s Uddhav Thackeray government has been criticised over its handling of the case. Multiple petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court, alleging police inaction and demanding a CBI probe.