LUCKNOW: A 25-year-old man was tied up, beaten with sticks and publicly humiliated after he was allegedly caught meeting a married woman at her house in the Derapur area of Kanpur Dehat. The woman, who tried to intervene, was also assaulted by her in-laws, police said.The incident took place in Khirwan Dera village, around 25 km from the district headquarters. Videos of the assault, showing the man being tied up with ropes and beaten by family members and villagers, surfaced on social media.Police said Pawan, a labourer from the Banjara community, had allegedly gone to meet the married woman at her residence late on Thursday night. The woman, who has been married for about six years and has two children, reportedly hid him inside a wardrobe after neighbours became suspicious and locked the house from outside on Friday morning.According to local residents, the woman’s in-laws returned from the fields and began searching the house after learning that an outsider was inside. After several hours, they found Pawan hiding inside the wardrobe.Enraged family members allegedly dragged him out, tied his hands and feet with ropes in the courtyard and assaulted him. Witnesses said he was forced to lie on the ground and was repeatedly struck on the soles of his feet with sticks. Women in the family also allegedly hit him with slippers.When the woman tried to protect him, she was also assaulted, villagers said.After the assault, Pawan was handed over to the police. Officers took him into custody, conducted a medical examination and initiated proceedings against him for breach of peace.Police said two FIRs have been registered in connection with the incident — one against Pawan for trespassing and another against the woman’s relatives for causing hurt and under other sections of the BNS.“One of the accused in thrashing the lover Kaptan has been arrested and sent to the jail,” said Kanpur Dehat SP Shraddha Narendra Pandey.Locals claimed that the woman and Pawan had grown close over the past two months. Both belong to the Banjara community and are residents of the same village.
