Saurashtra simmers as Dalit groups protest continues on the streets. Angry mobs have resorted to the conventional way of agitation; blocking highways, vandalising state buses, and pelting stones and arson, all over the brutal whipping of four Dalit youths in Una. Supporters resorted to committing suicide and Dalit community members began openly talking about the atrocities they put up with.
The 52 year old Balu Sarvaiya's head was smashed with an iron pipe when he begged with gau rakshaks to not hurt his sons and two others. This was the incident that triggered the ongoing violence. National leaders Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal visited the victims and their families in Gujarat. AAP chief Kejriwal asked, "Why is the police not taking action? It indicates that the government is involved. The state government in Gujarat is anti-Dalit." State Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, whose term has faced a rough time with the Patel agitation last year and now Dalit protests, spent nearly 90 minutes with the people and promised a CBI probe into the incident.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence over the incident. "The Prime Minister should break his silence on the Una incident and action should be taken against the culprits," she said. Home Minister Rajnath Singh condemned the thrashing and said such incidents must not be repeated. "What happened in Gujarat is highly condemnable and such incidents must not be repeated. Sixteen people have been arrested in connection with Una incident, 4 police officials have been suspended," he said, adding that the case has been handed over to the CID.
