Sambalpur: Five persons were arrested Tuesday for allegedly assaulting a migrant worker from Kerala after mistaking him for a thief in Odisha’s Sambalpur district, officials said.
The incident happened in Dhobapada in the Khetrajpur police station area June 21 and came to light after a video of the assault went viral on social media.
Police said local residents chased, assaulted and dragged the worker while abusing and threatening him.
A police team intervened in time, rescued the victim and prevented the incident from escalating into a possible mob lynching, they said.
The accused, Shiba Ganda (22), Prithivi Nag (28), Sushanta Suna (38), Sachindra Pande (33) and Saroj Meher (36), were arrested under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, they said.
“Sambalpur Police reiterates that mob violence and vigilantism will not be tolerated, and strict legal action will be taken against those taking the law into their own hands,” the district police said in a statement.