An Adivasi woman was stripped naked and publicly paraded by her husband in a village in Rajasthan’s Pratapgarh district on Thursday, PTI reported, citing the police.
A video of the assault showing the 21-year-old woman screaming for help in front of other people was widely shared on social media on Friday.
Rajasthan Director General of Police Umesh Mishra said that the woman’s in-laws had kidnapped her and took her to the Nichalkota village in Pratapgarh district, where she was also beaten, according to ANI.
Her in-laws were angry as she was staying with another man, Mishra told PTI.
Her husband paraded her naked for about one kilometre in the village, the police said. “Some of the women from her in-law’s side were also seen involved in the incident and that all the persons accused in the matter would be arrested soon,” Mishra said.
The police have detained eight persons, including the woman’s husband, PTI reported. Those detained include three persons who allegedly watched the woman being stripped naked and paraded.
Authorities are looking for two more accused persons.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot assured that the accused persons will be arrested soon and prosecuted in a fast-track court. “There is no place for such criminals in a civilised society,” he said in a tweet.
The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party criticised the Congress government, saying that “all limits of inhumanity towards women have been crossed in Rajasthan”.
BJP President JP Nadda said the Congress was “busy settling factional squabbles”, referring to the power tussle between Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot.
“It’s no wonder the issue of women’s safety is being completely ignored in the state,” he added. “Every single day, there is an instance of harassment against women. The people of Rajasthan will teach the state government a lesson.”
Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje urged social media users not to share the video, saying the assault has put Rajasthan to shame.
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