Alirajpur (Madhya Pradesh): A 48-year-old tribal man was stripped naked, beaten and paraded over suspicion of an affair with a widow in Madhya Pradesh’s Alirajpur. The villagers also assaulted the victim woman when she tried to protect her man.

The incident took place in Chhoti Malpur village of Alirajpur district on November 14 and the pictures are going viral on social media. The villagers, in an extreme reaction, punished the couple for what they believed was infidelity.

According to reports, the villagers suspected the man of having an illegal relationship with a woman from the village. They caught him, tied his hands, and beat him severely.

The victim explained that the woman he was allegedly involved with is a widow, and there was no one to care for her. He had befriended her four years ago and had been supporting her children ever since, a fact well known to the villagers.

The woman, when she got to know about the assault, rushed to the scene and intervened. She told the crowd that when her husband passed away, no one from her family or the village came to support her, but this man had been there for her, and now he was being attacked.

Some onlookers filmed the incident, despite being warned by the attackers not to report it to the police. The video was later uploaded to social media.

According to the woman, the victim had gone to check on land he had mortgaged in Chhoti Malpur on the night of November 14. It was then that the attackers surrounded and beat him. The victim, desperate to escape, pleaded for mercy, but his requests were ignored.

According to the police, the woman from the village had lost her husband four years ago, and there was no one to take care of her. She befriended the man and since then, she had been living with him.

The police have arrested five individuals in connection with the incident. The arrested suspects are Girdar (son of Samesh Ganawa), Anil (son of Samesh Ganawa), Ajmer (son of Samesh Ganawa), Vinu (son of Malji), and Kailash (son of Thawariya Ganawa). They have been presented in court and sent to jail.

However, Khapsariya (son of Varsingh Ganawa) remains on the run. The police have filed charges under sections 296, 115 (2), 133, 127 (2), 351 (2), and 3/5 BNS.

SP Rajesh Vyas has acknowledged the gravity of the matter, stating, "The incident has come to our attention. We assure the public that an FIR will be registered and stringent action will be taken against those responsible."