JAIPUR: A woman and her lover were stripped and tied to a tree allegedly by her husband and villagers, who also posted disturbing pictures of the incident in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district on social media. Police has arrested 30 people in connection with the incident.
The 26-year-old woman, a resident of Kasotia village in the tribal area, was in a live-in relationship with Lalu Ram, a resident of Khodi Pipli Tekan village.
The couple was taken hostage by the woman’s husband Bhanwar Lal and villagers on June 20 near Bhatevar village.
They later took the duo to Kasotia village where they stripped them and tied them to a tree for two days besides shooting their pictures which went viral on WhatsApp, police said.
The accused also took six people hostage, including the mother and two brothers of the woman, who had gone to the villagers to rescue the woman, they said.
“A police team was rushed to the village yesterday after the matter came to light,” Superintendent of Police Udaipur Rajendra Prasad Goyal said.
“When the woman and her paramour were caught by the villagers, the woman’s mother, brothers and others went to rescue them but they all were also caught and were kept in a room. The family of Lalu Ram gave Rs. 80,000 to the villagers to get him freed from them,” Ghanshyam Sharma, Circle Officer, Vallabh Nagar, said.
There is no information on the woman’s whereabouts even as her mother and relatives have been rescued.
“We have not recovered the woman so far and it is suspected that she is with her husband and other accused who are absconding,” he said.
Ten men and three women have been arrested in connection with the incident, police said.
Meanwhile, SDM Lasadia Naresh Bunkar has forwarded a recommendation to the district collector for action against the local Patwari Mani Lal Meghwal and two government teachers for not reporting the incident to the district administration.