Rajasthan: Eight arrested for stripping, beating eloping couple

Jaipur: Eight people of a village caste council in Rajasthan's Udaipur district were arrested on Monday, a day after they publicly beat and stripped a married woman and her boyfriend after tying them to a tree over their illicit relationship, police said.

The incident took place at Kolar village near Sarada town in Udaipur, some 400 km from Jaipur.

"We have lodged a first information report (FIR) against about a dozen identified people. Eight of them were arrested Monday," said Udaipur's Superintendent of Police Hari Prasad Sharma.

The incident took place at Kolar village near Sarada town in Udaipur, some 400 km from Jaipur.

Prakash Meena, 25, had an illicit relationship with a married woman in the village. They had eloped about 10 days ago. The villagers located the couple Saturday evening and held a caste council meeting to decide upon the punishment for them having illicit relations.

"In front of the crowd of hundreds of villagers, Prakash and the woman were tied to a tree and stripped. They were then beaten up," said the officer. A police team rescued the couple almost after four hours.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also ordered an enquiry into the incident.

"The Udaipur divisional commissioner has been asked to prepare a report within a week," a senior administration officer told IANS.

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