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A court in Veraval in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district on Monday (March 16, 2026) convicted five persons and acquitted 35 others in connection with the 2016 Una Dalit flogging case in which members of a Dalit family were attacked. Proceedings against one police constable ended after he died while the trial was underway.
The court is scheduled to announce the punishment for the five convicted people on Tuesday (March 17).
Those found guilty were: Ramesh Jadav, Rakesh Joshi, Pramodgiri Gausvami, Nagji Vaniya and Balwantgiri Gausvami. The verdict regarding a juvenile accused in the case is still pending.
After Una atrocity, Dalits protest and refuse to dispose of carcasses in Gujarat
District government lawyer Ketansinh Vala said the court held the five men guilty under Sections 323 (causing simple hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt using dangerous weapons), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 504 (intentional insult) of the Indian Penal Code. They were also convicted under Sections 3(1)(D) and 3(1)(E)(R)(S)(U) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
However, the court did not find them guilty under IPC provisions related to attempt to murder (Section 307), robbery (Section 397), kidnapping (Section 365), rioting (Section 147), assault intended to dishonour a person (Section 355) and criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), Mr. Vala added.
The incident occurred on July 11, 2016, when more than 40 men from the upper caste Darbar community allegedly attacked four members of the Sarvaiya family in Mota Samadhiyala village near Una. The Sarvaiyas, who traditionally worked as leather tanners, had been skinning a dead cow when they were assaulted by the group, which accused them of slaughtering the animal.
Beaten with rods
During the assault, four Sarvaiya brothers were stripped, tied to a vehicle and beaten with sticks and iron rods. Some of the attackers recorded videos of the incident on their mobile phones. The accused, who described themselves as cow vigilantes, allegedly whipped the youths. The complaint also alleged that the victims were later taken to a police lock-up where they were again beaten by police personnel. It further stated that the four men were subjected to the assault for nearly four to five hours.
Investigators also examined allegations that police personnel colluded with the attackers and manipulated certain FIR documents to protect them.
Locals reportedly tried to intervene to rescue the victims but were threatened by the assailants. They later contacted police control rooms in Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad seeking help. The accused were additionally booked under Sections 66A and 66B of the Information Technology Act, 2000 for allegedly recording and circulating videos of the assault. Clips of the flogging later circulated widely on social media, sparking protests across the country and triggering outrage over the activities of cow vigilante groups.
The case soon turned into a major political issue, with leaders including then Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visiting the Sarvaiya family in Mota Samadhiyala village.
Published – March 16, 2026 10:25 pm IST
