Three Dalits thrashed for objecting to casteist slur

AHMEDABAD: Three Dalits were allegedly thrashed by four men for objecting to their casteist slur in a village near Una town in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district, police said Friday.

It comes over two years after the flogging of four Dalit youths by cow vigilantes in the same district triggered a national outcry. The latest incident took place at Nandrakh village, about 400km from Ahmedabad, on Thursday.

No arrests have been made yet, the police said.

The complaint was filed by one of the victims, Manu Solanki (27), who has claimed that one of the accused, Ajit Gohil, was arrested for his involvement in the 2016 Una flogging case and is currently out on bail. The three other accused are Mahendra Gohil, Kishor Gohil and Aniruddh Gohil, all belonging to an Other Backward Class (OBC) community, the police said.

According to the FIR lodged at the Una police station, the incident took place when Manu Solanki and his relative, Bharat Solanki, were returning to Nandrakh on foot. When they entered the village, the four men, who according to Manu Solanki were drunk, suddenly started verbally abusing him and Bharat Solanki for being Dalits and hurled casteist slur at them. When they protested, the four hit them with sticks. One of the accused even attacked Manu Solanki using a knife, which left a wound near his face, they said. The accused also thrashed another relative of Manu Solanki, Ugabhai Solanki, who rushed to the spot to save the duo, the FIR stated.