The wife of the dalit ragpicker, who was beaten to death in Gujarat, has said that the attackers asked them their caste before attacking. She also stated to the police that the attackers hurled caste-based abuses at them.
Mukesh Vaniya, who was in his late 30s, was beaten to death on Sunday at a factory near Shapar town in Rajkot district by five people. A case of murder and culpable homicide has been registered against the accused. They have also been booked under different sections of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Soon after the video of Vaniya being flogged went viral, the police arrested four persons and held a 17-year-old boy. The state government was quick to announce a compensation of Rs 8 lakh for Vaniya's kin.
Vaniya, his wife Jaya and his aunt were picking rags when the assailants asked them to clean up the area near their factory. The victim refused saying that they only picked rags. According to reports, the factory owners suspected that Vaniya and the others had stolen things from the factory. After beating them, the women were sent back while Vaniya was held captive.
When she returned with help, her husband was found lying on the ground. He was tied with a rope and beaten using rods. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. Vaniya is survived by two children.
Jitubhai Sarvaiya of Una, nephew of Balubhai Sarvaiya whose sons were flogged in the infamous Una case, told THE WEEK that the attackers first asked the caste and then attacked, which makes it clear that it was a caste based attack. “Dalits in Gujarat are being attacked for keeping moustaches, riding a horse....,” he recalled.
Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission on Tuesday issued a notice to the Gujarat government demanding a report withing four days.
Taking suo moto cognizance of newspaper reports, the NHRC issued a notice to Gujarat's chief secretary J.N. Singh asking him to submit a report within four weeks. A media release from the NHRC said that it has also asked the chief secretary to furnish the details about the measures taken for the relief of affected families. Call for bandh on May 24 to protest the murder are also doing the rounds on social media in Gujarat.
Martin Mackwan of Navsarjan Trust, working for dalit rights, remarked that people in Gujarat do not fear law and that there have been continuous attacks on dalits.
Jitubhai said that people of his community were shocked on hearing the news. He had recently embraced Buddhism in protest against the state government's alleged failure to deliver justice to the victims of Una.
A few months ago, a dalit person, in-charge of a mid-day meal scheme, had committed suicide near Vadnagar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's native city, alleging harassment by teachers.
It was followed by a young boy being killed for allegedly riding a horse. Investigations, however, claimed that he was killed for eve-teasing.