Skip to main content

Cops "tipped" Gujarat's cow protecting Shiv Sainiks, who tied Una Dalits to SUV, assaulted them with iron rods

Protest in Ahmedabad against Una incident
By A Representative
Amidst Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel ordering CBI probe into the assault on four Dalit youths with iron rods after tying them with SUV in order to punish them for seeking to skin a dead cow in a village near Una town of Saurashtra region, it has come to light that it was the local cops who had “tipped” the attackers.
Quoting police sources, one of the most well-informed Gujarat-based scribes, Prashant Dayal, has said in a personal blog that the police control room of Una had passed on information” to the attackers on July 11, following which the vigilante group of cow protectors reached the village, Mota Samadhiyala, where the Dalits were skinning the dead cown, and beat them us. The four were later taken to Una town, where they were tied to SUV and hit with iron rods.
While the Gujarati blog calls it a “small mistake” or a “misunderstanding” which, it says, “triggered” the events that followed, leading to violent Dalit protests all over Gujarat, it adds, “The police apparently acted on the basis of a wrong information which it had received.”
“The mistake of the cops was, they didn't reach the spot where the incident took place”, the blog says, adding, “They did not even think of information about it to senior police officials, Instead, they handed over the information to cow protectors or Shiv Sainiks.”
Meanwhile, the four cops, responsible for tipping the Shiv Sainiks, have been suspended.
Una aftermath: Gujarat CM poses with BJP Dalit leaders
The startling revelation has come amidst protests, which were confined to Saurashtra, spreading to Ahmedabad. At least seven Dalits are said to have tried to commit suicide in order to highlight the plight of Dalits, one of whom is reported dead.
Part of their hereditary work as tannery workers, angry Dalits across Saurashtra threatened to stop lifting dead cows and instead litter them in villages and towns across Saurashtra. In an unprecendented display of anger, they brought dead cows in tractors and dumped carcasses at government offices of Gondal and Surendranagar.
On Tuesday, things spread to other towns and cities. In Ahmedabad, more than 1,000 Dalits were detained for holding a rally and dharna in the Sarangpur area under the banner of Dalit Panther. In Amreli violent protests broke out following clashes with police, in which a head constable was seriously injured and died after he was admitted in hospital.
In Gondal, Dhoraji, Dhrol, Rajkot and Amreli there were incidents of ST buses being attacked or set on fire. There have also been reports of state highways being blocked for several hours.
The demonstrators were, apparently, not pleased with the response of the state government, which set up an inquiry by the CID Crime in the incident of the beating of four Dalit boys, and said it was “committed” to protecting the Dalits..
Four days after the incident, the Chief Minister on Monday expressed her grief over the incident through tweets saying she was “deeply pained by the incident” and that it was “very unfortunate”. She added, her government was taking all necessary action in the case.
“Our minister and parliamentary secretary have visited the spot. Compensation of Rs 1 lakh per person has been sanctioned. We will continue to extend all support to victims and bear all the expenditure of their treatment”, she tweeted.
Keeping quiet till now, rhe Congress, too, reacted on Tuesday, seeking “strict action” against all the accused, adding that the neglecting cops should be sent to jail for "lackadaisical attitude" on the matter. The Congress declared it would hand over a memorandum to the Gujarat governor, claiming, the Una incident was the result of law and order getting out of hand.

Comments

TRENDING

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra*  The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat*  As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Dowry over duty: How material greed shattered a seven-year bond

By Archana Kumar*  This account does not seek to expose names or tarnish identities. Its purpose is not to cast blame, but to articulate—with dignity—the silent suffering of a woman who lived her life anchored in love, trust, and duty, only to be ultimately abandoned.

Pairing not with law but with perpetrators: Pavlovian response to lynchings in India

By Vikash Narain Rai* Lynch-law owes its name to James Lynch, the legendary Warden of Galway, Ireland, who tried, condemned and executed his own son in 1493 for defrauding and killing strangers. But, today, what kind of a person will justify the lynching for any reason whatsoever? Will perhaps resemble the proverbial ‘wrong man to meet at wrong road at night!’