AHMEDABAD, India — Tension has gripped parts of the western Indian state of Gujarat after reports that seven men from the low-caste Dalit community had attempted suicide.
The men tried to take their own lives to protest against last week’s assault on four Dalit men by ‘gau rakshaks’ (cow protectors) who were protesting against the skinning of a cow. According to police, the low-caste workers brought the cow for skinning after it had died naturally.
Many Hindus consider cows sacred and the slaughter of the animal is banned in many Indian states.
Last year, a Muslim man was lynched by a violent mob that attacked his house over allegations that his family had been storing and consuming beef at home in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
There have several other attacks across India where Muslim men have been accused of eating or smuggling beef.
Protesters set government buses on fire on Gondal, Dhoraji and Junagadh highway on Monday and blocked a national highway and seven men allegedly took poison at separate protest rallies by Dalit groups, police said.
A large number of policemen have been deployed to control any untoward incident in the state, however, the situation is under control.
After a video of the assault was released on the Internet, eight attackers were identified and arrested. The video shows the four half-naked men tied to a car as the activists take turns to thrash them with belts and batons at a crowded marketplace. Two more Dalits were beaten up after they tried to save the other four.
Attacks by vigilante groups on cow traders and smugglers have increased since Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi stormed to power in 2014.
Right-wing Hindu groups in India have long demanded a complete ban on the slaughter of all cattle, citing religious scriptures.
At least five Muslim men were killed last year by Hindu mobs on suspicion of eating beef or smuggling cows across the country.
