Berhampur: The Odisha Police Wednesday arrested four persons, including two brothers, Wednesday for allegedly assaulting a 45-year-old woman and three youths by tying them to an electric pole on suspicion of theft in Ganjam district.
The accused are residents of Bhetanai village under Kotinada police station limits.
They were arrested on the basis of a complaint lodged by the woman and prima facie evidence, said Damodar Bihari, inspector in charge of Kotinada police station.
A group of people knocked on the woman’s door early Tuesday, forcibly entered the house and dragged out her son and two of his friends, he said.
The trio were allegedly beaten and tied to electric poles, police said.
When the woman tried to intervene, she was also restrained, “assaulted” and tied to the same pole, the officer said, adding that the victims were later rescued by villagers.
Some villagers suspected their involvement in theft incidents in the area, claiming that unidentified persons had visited the woman’s house on several occasions earlier, police added.
