Berhampur: In a bizarre incident, four youths had to face the wrath of the public after they were caught red-handed while wandering suspiciously in a village to commit loot early Wednesday morning.
Angry villagers detained the four and thrashed them black and blue before tonsuring their heads. They were later paraded with slippers around their necks around the village. The incident has been reported from Jodabandha village under Kadua panchayat.
According to sources, the four accused had barged into the house of Prabhakar Nayak at around 3 am Wednesday. Hearing the noise, Prabhakar, who was fast asleep at the rooftop, came downstairs and found the miscreants stealing from the house.
Prabhakar immediately raised an alarm and locals caught the thieves near Narendrapur village when they were trying to escape from the area with the collected bounty. The locals thrashed the youths and their heads were partially shaved later.
On being informed, the police rushed to the spot and took the accused four into the custody. Besides, police have also seized two mobile phones, a motorcycle, a wallet, and Rs 2,000 from their possession.
During interrogation, the accused youths confessed to the crime and alleged that they were assaulted and tortured.
While a case against the youths has been registered under relevant Sections of the IPC, police will also investigate and apprehend the persons involved in thrashing the youths, sources said.
PNN