Dragged out of house, woman brutally thrashed, punched in stomach over unpaid loan

A woman was lashed with a leather belt, punched and kicked by a group of men after being dragged out of her house in Punjab's Muktsar district for allegedly failing to repay Rs 23,000 she had borrowed from one of them, following which six persons were arrested, police said Saturday. A video of the brutal assault has gone viral, triggering outrage. An elderly woman who was trying to stop the accused was also pushed, showed the video.

Police said the woman was assaulted as she could not repay Rs 23,000, which she owed to one Suresh Chaudhary. She has been admitted to the civil hospital and was stated to be out of danger, they said. "We have arrested six persons in this case," said Manjit Singh Dhesi, Muktsar's Senior Superintendent of Police.

Suresh Chaudhary, Roop Lal, Sunny Chaudhary, Guddi, Sekhu and Jebo have been arrested, while four others -- Rakesh Chaudhary, Hassan, Renu and Jyoti -- were on the on the run, police said. The have been booked under several charges, including attempt to murder.

Police said efforts were being made to arrest the remaining four accused. Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh condemned the incident and said such acts of violence will not be tolerated.

"Accused in the video from Muktsar have been arrested by Punjab police & booked for attempt to murder u/s 307 IPC. No one is above the law and such acts of violence will not be tolerated (sic)," the chief minister tweeted.