Puri: Police have arrested five persons, including two minors, for allegedly assaulting a 35-year-old man, stripping him naked and parading him along a public road in Puri district on suspicion that he had attempted to molest a mentally ill woman.
The incident occurred near Jalakabar village under Chandanpur police limits at around 8 pm Sunday, police said.
According to the police, the victim, Mrutyunjay Pradhan, a resident of Parbatipur village under Baseli Sahi police limits, was returning to Satyabadi on his bicycle when the incident took place.
His father, Gobinda Chandra Pradhan, lodged a complaint alleging that some miscreants intercepted his son near Jalakabar, brutally assaulted him, stripped him naked and paraded him along the public road.
Police rushed to the spot, rescued Mrutyunjay and shifted him to the district headquarters hospital in a critical condition.
Preliminary investigation suggested that Mrutyunjay, who was allegedly intoxicated, fell off his bicycle near a mentally ill woman who was sitting there. Suspecting that he had attempted to molest the woman, some locals allegedly caught hold of him, assaulted him, stripped him and paraded him naked on the road, police said.
Police arrested five persons from Jalakabar village, including two minors, in connection with the incident and seized bamboo sticks allegedly used in the assault. A criminal case has been registered and further investigation is underway.