September 14, 2022: Four monks were allegedly attacked by villagers in Maharashtra's Sangli on suspicion of being child-lifters. The matter came to light after a video of the incident started surfacing on the Internet as the monks themselves have not registered any official complaint regarding the incident to the police here.

"We have not received any complaint or a formal report, but are looking into the viral videos and are verifying the facts," said Dikshit Gedan, Superintendent of Police, Sangli. The incident took place while the monks from Uttar Pradesh were going for 'darshan' to Pandharpur in Solapur after returning from a pilgrimage at Karnataka's Bijapur.

They were attacked by villagers in Sangli after they asked a child for some help. The villagers mistook them and started thrashing them after a ruckus. The monks belonged to Panch Dashnam Juna Akhada in Mathura, who was on their pilgrimage to various places.

The police are looking into the matter. Further details are awaited. (ANI)