Protesters Dump Dead Cows On Gujarat Streets To Protest Cow Vigilantees Attacking On Dalit Youths

Members of India's low-caste Dalit community sticks and shout slogans in Ahmedabad, India

Bobins Abraham, Indiatimes,July 19, 2016: Protesting the attack on four youth last week in Gujarat for alleged cow slaughter a group of dalits have been admitted in hospital after they consumed poison in an effort to commit suicide.

Dalits held protest rallies in major towns including in Gondal, where five members of the community consumed pesticide while two members consumed it in another town Jamkandorana town. The protest turned violent on Monday night after the protesters set fire to two state owned buses. 

They also dumped a truckload of cow carcasses in front of the collector's office in Surendranagar district and are refusing to bury them until action is taken against those who were seen publicly flogging four dalits accused cow slaughter. 

Meanwhile Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel has ordered a CID probe into the incident. She has announced setting up of a special court and appointing a special public prosecutor in the case and declared that the chargesheet will be filed within 60 days. 

Last week a shocking video had emerged showing four dalit youths being beaten up by a cow protection group. They were accused of cow slaughter, a charge which the victims have refused. 

They say they were only skinning a dead cow before deposing it, which is their traditional job. Three men including some Shiv Sena members were arrested in connection with the incident.

CatchNews:  An angry Dalit mob threatened to dump carcasses across Gujarat's Saurashtra region to protest against the cow vigilantes who allegedly thrashed members of a Dalit family at Una last week for skinning a dead cow.

Photo: vishwagujarat.com

The protesters also used tractors to bring cow carcasses and dumped them outside the District Collector's office. An angry mob also dumped the dead bodies near government offices in Gondal and Surendranagar.

"Dalits will stop lifting dead animals. We told the government to ask Shiv Sainiks and the self-proclaimed cow protectors to collect and dispose of the carcass from the villages and towns," the Times of India quoted BK Parmar, a Dalit rights activist in Surendranagar as saying.

Parts of Gujarat have been tense after seven members of a Dalit family were allegedly beaten up for skinning a dead cow in Mota Samadhiyala village of Una taluka in Gir Somnath district on 11 July. Four members of Bablu Sarvaiya's family were tied to a car and beaten with sticks and iron pipes. A video of the incident went viral, following which police took action.