| Una flogging incident | |
|---|---|
| Part ofcow vigilante violence in India | |
 Interactive map of Una flogging incident | |
| Location | 20°49′N71°02′E / 20.82°N 71.03°E /20.82; 71.03 Una, Gujarat |
| Date | 11 July 2016; 9 years ago (11 July 2016) |
Attack type | Flogging |
| Injured | 4 |
| Motive | Cow protection |
In July 2016, seven members of aDalit family were assaulted by a group of people on the pretext ofcow protection inUna in Gujarat, India. The video of the incident was circulated on the social media resulting in statewide protests in following months. Forty-three people including fourGujarat Police officers werearrested and the case is under trial since August 2018.
On 11 July 2016, the seven members of aDalit family were skinning the carcasses of a dead cow inMota Samadhiyala village near Una inGir Somnath district ofGujarat. They had bought the carcass fromBediya village. They were approached by men in two cars who claimed to be a member of a "cow protection group" and accused them of killing cows. The Dalits tried to convince them that they were skinning dead cows. However, the unconvinced gau rakshaks tied the Dalits to the car and beat them with sticks, iron pipes and a knife. Four of them were brought to Una town in the car, stripped and assaulted again in public. When police arrived, the attackers fled in their car. The assault was recorded on video and circulated on social media. The Dalits were moved to hospital in Una and later to Rajkot civil hospital on 14 July.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
The videos of thrashing went viral on internet and sparked the protests across the state.[2] On 12 July 2016 a huge protest rally was at first organized inChandkheda area inAhmedabad by variousDalit leaders in which more than 2,000Dalits attended and blocked the state highway. On 13 July 2016, hundreds of Dalits hold protest rally against the incident and later occupiedTrikon Baug, the main square in Una for an hour.[4] On 21 July, the issue was discussed inRajya Sabha, the upper house ofParliament. The protests spread acrossSaurashtra region. Twelve Dalit youth attempted suicide in protest across the region and one of them died. Twelve people including seven police personnel were injured in the protest and one of them died.[7] Bystanders who attempted to interfere were also beaten.[8]
Jignesh Mevani, a Dalit leader, led the protest march calledDalit Asmita Yatra, organised underRashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch[9][10] fromAhmedabad to Una which culminated on 15 August 2016 which was attended by some 20,000Dalits, including women, who took a pledge to give up their traditional jobs of removing cow carcasses. He demanded the land for upliftment of Dalits.[11][12] In August 2016, 10 Dalits were injured and vehicles were torched when a mob attacked them returning from Una after attending a flag-hoisting ceremony to mark the end their 10-day Azadi Kooch (freedom march). The government denied the incident.[13]
The government had filed 74 cases against the Dalit protesters who damage private and government property.[14]
On 25 April 2018 two of the victims of the Una incident were again attacked by one of the accused who was out on bail. They were returning from shopping in Una in preparation for theirconversion to Buddhism.[15][16]
TheGujaratCrime Investigation Department (CID) arrested 43 people in September 2016 including two minors and fourpolice officers. Later, 35 of them were released on bail and one arrested police officer died ofjaundice in September 2017. The prime accused was released on bail on the condition of not entering the limits of Una. Thirty-four of them were charged for attempt to murder, robbery, kidnapping, assault to dishonour person, wrongful confinement,rioting, hurting by weapon andcriminal conspiracy. They were also charged foratrocities and recording the video of the incident. The charge sheet was filed in December 2016.[15]
The trial started in August 2018.[17]
Gujarat Chief MinisterAnandiben Patel visitedMota Samadhiyala and promised that the victims would be given Below Poverty Line cards, housing plots, five-acre agricultural land and government jobs. However, in 2018, theBJP government told theGujarat Legislative Assembly that there was no record of the promises. Jignesh Mevani, who had asked the question in the Assembly, accused thestate government of reneging on its promise.[18]
The victims had protested with hunger strike against the government and soughtmercy killing for not fulfilling the promise of 5 acres land, BPL card, each one government job, housing plot and Subsidy for house built.[14][19]
The 2019 Hindi filmArticle 15 portrayed the flogging incident with a modified story.[20]