The Gujarat police probing the widely condemned incident of thrashing of Dalits in Una town of Gir Somnath district by ‘cow vigilantes’ has found that the cow being skinned by the Dalits was killed by lions.

According to CID Inspector General SS Trivedi, lions had killed four cows near Mota Samadhiyala village in Una that night. “During our probe, eye-witnesses told us the Dalit victims were called in the morning to dispose of the carcasses. Thus, it is clear that the victims were not involved in cow slaughter.” Though the village is located away from Gir sanctuary, lions are usually spotted in the area. Some of the villages also fall in the lion corridor used by the wild cats to move around.

Trivedi said it was still a matter of investigation as to who called the ‘cow vigilantes’ when the Dalits were skinning the cow and what was the motive behind giving such false information, which led to the brutal thrashing.

The victims included Vashram Sarvaiya, his brother Ramesh, and their cousins Ashok and Bechar.

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