Rajkot: Two Dalit men were on Sunday allegedly beaten up by cow vigilantes for refusing to dispose off the carcass of a calf in Mandal village in Saurashtra region of Gujarat.
According to a report, the victims Nagji Rathod and Mayabhai Rathod, have alleged they were beaten by seven people for refusing to remove the carcass. A complaint was later filed by Nagji against the seven people.
The Dalit community in Gujarat have stopped the work of clearing cattle carcasses since the Una incident in July.
The Gujarat police have booked Mandal village head Atabhai Ahir, Bhola Bharvad, Bhopa Bharvad, Mepa Bharvad and three others, who are yet to be identified, under various sections of Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Atrocities against Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Act on Monday.
Ahir, who allegedly led the group of cow vigilantes, has been arrested.
"Two days ago, a calf died on roadside in Mandal village. Sarpanch Atabhai Ahir approached Nagji and asked him to dispose the dead animal. But Nagji refused saying he has stopped disposing dead animals in wake of the attacks on their community by cow vigilantes," Nagji's elder brother Soma Rathod said.
The Rathod family was attacked by cow vigilantes or gau rakshaks in May as well.
Earlier this month, a 15-year-old boy Dalit boy in Gujarat’s Bhavda village was thrashed because his father had refused to clear cattle carcasses.
