Berhampur, March 18 The Odisha Police on Wednesday arrested four people, including two brothers, for allegedly assaulting a 45-year-old woman and three young men by tying them to an electric pole, suspecting them of theft in the Ganjam district.
The accused are residents of Bhetanai village under the Kotinada police station limits.
They were arrested based on a complaint lodged by the woman and prima facie evidence, said Damodar Bihari, the inspector in charge of the Kotinada police station.
A group of people knocked on the woman's door early on Tuesday, forcibly entered the house, and dragged out her son and two of his friends, he said.
The three were allegedly beaten and tied to electric poles, police said.
When the woman tried to intervene, she was also restrained, "assaulted," and tied to the same pole, the officer said, adding that the victims were later rescued by villagers.
Some villagers suspected their involvement in theft incidents in the area, claiming that unidentified persons had visited the woman's house on several occasions earlier, police added.