Five people have been arrested for allegedly assaulting a Kerala-based laborer on Sunday in Odisha’s Sambalpur town amid suspicions that he was a kidnapper, police said on Monday.
According to police, the arrests were made after videos of the assault appeared on social media.
The victim, Vishnu Sibu, a resident of Alleppey in Kerala, was rescued by a police team on Sunday and taken to hospital. He was later discharged from the hospital and returned to Kerala on Monday.
Sambalpur Additional Superintendent of Police (SP) Ajay Kumar Mishra said Vishnu had earlier worked as a welder for a contractor in Bargarh district. He has been unemployed for the past few months and has been looking for work in Sambalpur for nearly two weeks.
“While he was near Doppada Chak, some locals became suspicious due to his appearance and inability to communicate in the local language. They assumed that he had come to commit a crime and assaulted him,” Mishra said.
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One of the videos circulating on social media showed a group of people surrounding Vishnu, assaulting him and examining his bag. Another clip showed the injured man being dragged by local residents.
Police later examined viral videos and CCTV footage from the area.
Anil Pradhan, Inspector-in-Charge of Khitrajpur Police Station, said that the attack took place in Doppada area of Badabazar.
The incident comes after at least 24 people were arrested on Saturday for allegedly assaulting two NGO workers in Rayagada district, who are also suspected of being kidnappers.
The Investigation Units of Crimes Against Women (IUCAW) of Odisha Police are investigating the case. A petition has also been submitted to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) seeking financial compensation for the two victims.
