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Dalit Family Attacked In Karnataka Allegedly Over Beef Rumours

CHIKKAMAGALURU: A Dalit family in Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru was attacked last week allegedly by members of a rightwing group who suspected that they had eaten beef.

According to the police complaint, filed by Karnataka Communal Harmony Forum, 40-50 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.

"40-50 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

Seven people, who belong to Bajrang Dal, were arrested and charged under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, a senior cop in Chickmagaluru.

Terming the incident "unfortunate", Karnataka minister Roshan Baig said, "Government will not allow moral policing, like Gujarat does."

"Who are Bajrang Dal to teach us Hindutwa? No one can take law into their hands," Mr Baig said.

"Action will be taken against the accused," said TB Jayachandra, state law minister.

"People are being incited to be intolerant towards each other, such a thing has never happened in Karnataka," social activist Brinda Adige said.

"Thousands survive on the sale of beef in the state and groups who oppose the practice should lodge complaints instead of attacking people," she 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.