Gujarat Dalit unrest spreads; Rahul, Kejriwal to visit violence-hit Una to meet victims

Gandhinagar: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will soon visit Una town in Gujarat where some Dalit youths were brutally thrashed last week for allegedly killing a cow.

Some persons claiming to be “Gau rakshak” thrashed seven Dalit youths in Una last week alleging that they had killed a cow which they were skinning. 

The victims claimed that they were skinning the cow which had died of natural causes.

Video of the incident went viral, sparking protests. A policeman was killed in mob violence and a Dalit committed suicide as protests against last week’s incident.

The Dalit who died on Tuesday was among the five persons from the community who tried to take their own lives in separate incidents in Gujarat.

Dalit protesters set on fire three state transport buses, including two in Dhoraji and one in Dhrol near Jamnagar, and vandalised a telephone exchange in Rajkot.

A 2,000-strong mob also attacked two state buses in Amreli town in Saurashtra region.

While Rahul is likely to visit Una on Thursday, it is not clear as to when AAP chief will visit the violence-hit town.

AAP’s media coordinator Harshil Nayak said Kejriwal would meet the victims. “The visit is aimed at expressing solidarity with the victims and sharing their pain,” he said.