New Delhi, Feb 20 (IANS): Even as seven persons have been arrested on the charge of brutally assaulting two Dalit men in Nagaur district of Rajasthan, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday dubbed the crime "horrific and sickening".

He directed his party's government led by Ashok Gehlot in the state to take immediate action in the matter.

"The video of two young Dalit men being brutally tortured in Nagaur is horrific and sickening. I urge the state government to take immediate action to bring the perpetrators of this shocking crime to justice," Rahul tweeted.

Meanwhile, responding to the criticism from BJP quarters, the Congress reminded the party of the Una incident in Gujarat in July 2016, wherein seven members of a Dalit family were assaulted by a group of persons on the pretext of cow protection.

The party also pointed to an incident in Gujarat's Palanpur wherein a Dalit groom was beaten up on Sunday for riding a mare.

The shocking crime in Nagaur, which occurred on Sunday, came to light after the video clip went viral on the social media.

The two victims were accused of theft in a vehicle service centre and tortured by its owner and staff, who have since been booked under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and arrested.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala maintained that "the state government had taken timely action and arrested seven persons". He said the victims were also given compensation.