A man from Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district was tied to a tree and beaten by villagers on Sunday for allegedly misbehaving with two women, police said.
The man and his friend were accused of misbehaving with two women at a late-night gathering in Barahampur village under Udala police station limits.
Police said two men from Baripada area entered the village during a programme at the residence of an Adivasi family. Villagers alleged that the duo harassed two girls attending the event. While one of them managed to flee, villagers caught the other, tied him to a tree with ropes and thrashed him.
Police reached the scene, rescued the injured man, and admitted him to the hospital. The man later claimed he came to the village searching for his wife and mistakenly held another girl “in confusion.”
In a separate incident in Kendrapara on the same day, a domestic dispute allegedly escalated into mob violence after members of a man’s in-laws’ family and their supporters assaulted him in Kharinasi village under Jambu Marine police limits in Mahakalapada block.
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The victim, Manoranjan Giri, sustained injuries and was admitted to the Kendrapara district headquarters hospital. Videos of the assault have been circulating on social media.
“A dispute broke out between Manoranjan and his wife, during which he allegedly assaulted her. Following the incident, members of his wife’s family from nearby Jambu village allegedly arrived at his house,” said police.
Manoranjan alleged that more than 20 people arrived on 15 motorcycles, tied his wrists and ankles with ropes and assaulted him. “My in-laws’ family assaulted me alleging that I beat my wife. Around 25 to 30 people came to my house, tied my hands and legs with ropes and beat me,” he said.
His sister Archana Pudua alleged that around 20 people from the wife’s family attacked him. “Had the police not rescued him, they would have killed my brother. It appears that ordinary people no longer fear the authority of the police or the law,” she said.
Police from Jambu Marine police station rescued him and admitted him to the Mahakalapada Community Health Centre before referring him to the district headquarters hospital.
Police said complaints were filed by both sides and an investigation is underway. The officer-in-charge of the police station declined to comment, citing the ongoing probe.
The two incidents come three days after the lynching of a GRP constable near Bhubaneswar. The police personnel was accused of harassing two women and lynched to death.
