A Dalit family was attacked in Karnataka allegedly over rumours that they had eaten beef.
Highlights
- A Dalit family in Karnataka was attacked over beef rumours on July 17
- Seven members of rightwing group Bajrang Dal have been arrested
- Among those allegedly thrashed was a differently-abled man
A Dalit family in Karnataka's Chikkamagaluru district was attacked last week allegedly by members of a right-wing group who suspected that they had eaten beef.
According to the police complaint filed in the case, more than 40 members of the group attacked the family on July 17. Among those allegedly thrashed was a differently-abled man. Three members of the family have been injured seriously.
"40 to 50 Bajrang Dal activists attacked the family. Three of those who were hit are seriously injured. While some people were arrested in the case, they are now out on bail," said General Secretary of the Karnataka Communal Harmony Forum who have filed the complaint.
Seven people, who belong to Bajrang Dal, were arrested and charged, a senior cop in Chickmagaluru told NDTV.
Terming the incident "unfortunate", Karnataka minister Roshan Baig said, "The government will not allow moral policing, like Gujarat does."
"People are being incited to be intolerant towards each other, such a thing has never happened in Karnataka," social activist Brinda Adige said.
Earlier this month, four Dalit men were flogged and shamed by self-styled cow protectors in Gujarat's Una town.
Dalit protests have erupted across Gujarat after a video footage showed the men, who are tannery workers, were stripped, tied to an SUV, flogged with iron rods and paraded by self-appointed cow protectors who then uploaded the video online as a "warning".
In September last year, 50-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq was dragged out of his home and killed by a mob of at least 100 in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri over rumours that he had stored beef.
The Dadri incident and other attacks linked to cow-killing and beef-eating were held up by opposition parties and activists as examples of rising intolerance and bullying by groups linked to the BJP.