Nine arrested in connection with attack on Una Dalits: Rajnath tells Lok Sabha

New Delhi: In the wake of violent protests across Gujarat by the Dalit community against the assault on fellow community members for allegedly killing a cow, Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Lok Sabha condemned the incident and said PM Modi has also taken cognizance of the issue.   Amid stormy scenes in the Parliament on Wednesday, Singh said that nine persons have been arrested in connection with the incident; seven have been remanded to judicial custody while two were sent to police custody.   The Home Minister praised efforts of Gujarat government in handling situation post the incident.   “Atrocities against Dalits is a social evil. We must take it up as a challenge. Urge all parties to come together to fight this,” he added.   Singh said the number of cases of atrocities against Dalits have declined since BJP came into power.   “During Congress rule in Gujarat number of cases of atrocities against Dalits were high, sharp decline since BJP is in power,” Singh said.   The Opposition has launched a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi government over the alleged atrocities against Dalits in Gujarat.   Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday condemning the atrocities against Dalits and minorities said that the party will raise the Una issue in Parliament.   A policeman was killed in mob violence and a Dalit committed suicide on Tuesday as protests against last week's thrashing of four youth in Una town snowballed across Saurashtra region of Gujarat on Tuesday. The Dalit who died during the day was among the five persons from the community who tried to take their own lives in separate incidents in Gujarat.