Man stripped naked, thrashed by kin of teen girlfriend in Chhattisgarh's Sakti; videos go viral

Sakti: A 21-year-old man was stripped and assaulted in Chhattisgarh's Sakti district allegedly by kin of a teenage girl with whom he was in a relationship, police said on Friday.

Five persons were taken into custody during the day on the basis of videos of Rahul Anchal's ordeal in Bade Raveli village under Malkharoda police station limits on April 8 that went viral on social media, the official said.

"The incident took place when Anchal, who is a resident of Dabhra and belongs to the Scheduled Caste Satnami community, went to meet the 16-year-old girl from the Other Backward Classes.

The girl's kin spotted the man at their home, stripped him, tied him with rope and thrashed him slippers, cables and pipes. On April 9, he was stripped again and beaten up on the streets of the village," the official said.

In one of the viral videos, Anchal can be seen sitting on a platform beneath a tree, while man is hitting him. In another video, the victim can be heard saying the girl's parents caught him in a room and then called up others following which he was thrashed all through the night.

Anchal has been admitted to a hospital in neighbouring Raigarh district, the official said.

"No complaint has been received in connection with the assault. After videos surfaced on social media, police took cognizance of the matter and called heads of the community (to which the man belongs) and got an FIR registered," Sakti Superintendent of Police Ankita Sharma said.

The case was lodged under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 109(2) (attempt to murder), 296 (obscene act), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 191(2) (rioting) as well as provisions of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, she said.

So far five people have been taken into custody in this connection and further probe is underway, the SP said.