Una: Rahul Sips Tea With Dalit Victims’ Kin, Offers Financial Help

10 people, including policemen have been injured in protests that have ensued after the assault on Dalits.

Rahul Gandhi meeting Dalit victims’ family in Una, Gujarat. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@ANI)

On Thursday, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi reached Una village in Gujarat to meet the families of the Dalit victims who had been attacked over allegations of skinning a cow.

Reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s visit, one of the victims said:

Told Rahul <i>ji </i>everything, how we were all beaten up. he said they will do everything in their power to get us justice.

The victim also said he had informed the Congress scion that the victims were now seeking justice and had no plans of leaving the village, adding that it should be the accused Gau Rakshaks that should be leaving the village.

Una has become the new venue for Dalit politics as politicians from across party lines have rushed to the village to derive political mileage out of the brewing situation.

Apart from Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Anandiben Patel also met the victims on Wednesday, while Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is scheduled to meet the victims soon.

Rahul Gandhi announced assistance of Rs 5 lakh for the family. Gandhi sat with the family and held Babubhai Sarvaiya’s hand as they all became emotional. The Congress Vice President shared tea with the Dalit family.

Gandhi later left for Rajkot city, the nerve centre of the Saurashtra region, where he was to call on Dalit youngsters undergoing treatment in the government Civil Hospital after their suicide attempts in protest against the 11 July incident.

Earlier on Wednesday, violent scenes were seen in Gujarat as Dalit groups and protesters took to the streets, vandalised public property, and engaged in clashes with the police.

Amid the escalating violence, mobs took to attacking police with stones and killed a head constable on Tuesday. Ten other persons including protesters and policemen have been injured in protests.

These violent scenes come after the events of 11 July, when a group of Dalits were allegedly beaten up by six persons for skinning a dead cow at a village in Gir Somnath district. Two people sustained severe head injuries in the attack.