Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Congress’s vice- president Rahul Gandhi will visit Una, Gujarat, where a Dalit family was flogged by self-proclaimed ‘Gau Rakshaks’ (cow vigilantes) for skinning a dead cow last week. The incident was captured in a video which went viral on the internet.
Since the incident on July 11, thousands of Dalits have come out on streets to protests the Gau Rakshak Dal. They are demanding the Bhartiya Janta Party-led state government to take strict action against the accused.
After Saurashtra, the protests have spread to other regions as well. Two people have died as a result of the stir, despite the government ordering a CID probe into the incident. Protestors have torched and damaged 15 state transport buses and as many as 13 people have reportedly attempted suicide by consuming poison.
Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel sprung into action by ordering CID probe into the matter. She also announced that she would pay a personal visit to Balu Sarvaiya’s family and meet the members who were brutally assaulted.
The AAP has been organising rallies around the incident to garner the Dalit vote bank ahead of the 2017 state elections. The Congress is also not letting go this opportunity as many leaders from the party have met the Governor demanding strict action.
Two people, including a policeman, have died since the outburst.
While some reports say a protestor, Hemant Solanki, committed suicide over the incident, a Times Of India report states that Hemant Solanki poisoned himself due to marital issues.
