Ahmedabad: Around 3,000 Dalits were detained across Gujarat on Saturday during their state-wide protest against the alleged inaction by police in arresting culprits of Thanagadh killings. While 200 of them were detained in Ahmedabad, 100 people were taken into custody in Vadodara, 300 activists in Surendranagar and Patan districts and 200 people were detained in Surat, police said.
The protest began from Babasaheb Ambedkar's statue near Sarangpur. Traffic remained affected for several hours after agitators blocked the road. Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) vice-president Girish Parmar said the state government was "insensitive" to the threat faced by Dalit community in the state. He said none of the BJP Dalit leaders turned up for the protest.
"In the last 40 days, eight Dalits have been killed across the state, three dalit women have been raped and seven murder attempts have been made against the community," Parmar claimed.
Dalits from Thangadh are on indefinite fast for the last ten days demanding justice for families of the deceased. Three persons, including a boy, were killed after police opened fire in air at Thangadh town in Surendranagar district following violent clashes involving Dalit and Bharwad communities on September 22.
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