Four held for beating up unmarried couple in Madhya Pradesh

Four persons were arrested in Madhya Pradesh's Jhabua district after a video of them allegedly beating up an unmarried couple surfaced on social media, police said on Tuesday.

The attack had taken place at Dudhi village, 35 km from the district headquarters, last week, Kalidevi police station in-charge Gaurav Patil said.

After the video surfaced on social media, the woman's father registered a complaint on Sunday, following which the four accused were arrested on Monday, he said.

The accused, who are the woman's relatives, had allegedly caught the couple when they were out in the village and thrashed them using belts and sticks, the official said.

The police have arrested Bhanwar Singh (32), Akram Machar (52), Kalu Baria (32) and Deewan Machar (20) under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, he said.

The couple had allegedly fled the village out of fear following the attack, he added.