Odisha lecturer parades wife, her friend with slipper garland on Puri street over affair suspicion

Representative image

A college lecturer and an accomplice have been arrested in Odisha’s Puri district after the academic allegedly subjected his wife and a male friend to a brutal assault and public humiliation, an incident captured on video that has since circulated widely on social media.

The arrests, confirmed by local police on Thursday, followed a formal complaint from the 37-year-old victim, who is a teacher and has been living separately from her husband for several years due to marital disputes. She resides in a rented accommodation with their 14-year-old son.

According to the police report detailed by The Indian Express, the incident occurred on Tuesday around 8 pm when the 45-year-old lecturer and his associate forcibly entered the woman’s home. The husband allegedly became enraged upon finding his wife with a male friend, who is also a teacher.

A police officer informed that the assailants assaulted both individuals and recorded videos as they dragged them from the house. The victims were then garlanded with slippers and paraded on the road. Viral video clips from the incident show the woman’s male friend being stripped and the pair being forced to walk towards the police station surrounded by a crowd, while the weeping woman is pushed along by her husband.

The two accused have been charged under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to assault, outraging the modesty of a woman, criminal intimidation and acts intended to cause public humiliation.

Authorities have seized two mobile phones, a motorcycle and a hammer as part of their investigation. “Further investigation into the matter is underway. If we find that any others are involved, we will take action accordingly,” the police officer was cited by The Indian Express as stating.