BHADRAK: A 35-year-old man was allegedly thrashed, tonsured and forced to drink urine over an old enmity at a village in Odisha's Bhadrak district, police said on Tuesday.
Bhadrak district collector Gyanranjan Das ordered a thorough probe into the incident after the man's wife lodged a complaint.
"Such actions are unacceptable in any civilised society. I have asked the officials concerned to conduct a thorough inquiry," he said.
Das said he has directed the sub-collector of Bhadrak Pitamber Samal to probe the incident that took place in Baunsbag village in the Tihidi police station area.
Police said they are also investigating the matter.
While the incident took place on July 29, the wife of the victim filed a police complaint on Monday, inspector in- charge of Tihidi Ramesh Chandra Singh said.
As per the complaint, some miscreants dragged the man out of his house and physically assaulted him.
Thereafter, they tonsured him and also paraded him in the village putting a garland of shoes around his neck, he said.
When the hapless man begged for some water, some of the miscreants urinated on his face and forced him to drink it, as per the FIR lodged by police.
His wife further alleged that some villagers also assaulted her and snatched the gold ornaments she was wearing, police said.
Singh said a criminal case has been registered against 17 persons but no arrest has been made so far.
While an investigation is in progress to ascertain the circumstances that led to the incident, the preliminary inquiry showed it was triggered by an old enmity, he said.
Samal said the inquiry ordered by the district collector is underway to establish the sequence of events.