Eight Bengali-speaking workers stripped, paraded for 'misbehaving' with woman in Odisha's Sundergarh

Rourkela: Eight Bengali-speaking migrant workers were on Thursday stripped and paraded on a road with their hands tied for allegedly attempting to outrage the modesty of a local woman in Odisha’s Sundergarh town, police said.

Police said local residents thrashed and paraded the workers in a semi-nude condition on Mission Road between 8.30 am and 9 am. The victims hail from West Bengal's Murshidabad district and were working as masons in the town.

Informed by local residents, Sundergarh Town police arrived at the spot and rescued the eight persons and took them to the police station.

"We have registered two cases - one against 10 persons for stripping, thrashing, and parading the eight workers, and another based on the woman’s complaint against one of the workers," DIG Rourkela Brijesh Rai told PTI over the phone.

Rai said police have launched a manhunt to arrest the people who took the law into their own hands and humiliated the workers. "Police are investigating both cases, and no arrests have been made so far," Rai said and added that they have identified 10 people involved in assaulting the workers.

In her police complaint, the woman claimed that one of the workers attempted to outrage her modesty while she was returning home after taking bath on Wednesday.

When news of the incident spread, local residents attacked the house where the workers were staying, stripped them, and tied their hands. They were then paraded in public in a semi-nude condition, police said.

When police attempted to rescue the workers, they faced strong protests from the local people. Eyewitnesses said a journalist covering the incident was also allegedly threatened by the local residents.