Bhubaneswar: Police in Orissa's Keonjhar district have arrested at least 17 persons on charges of parading a married tribeswoman naked through the streets of a village.

According to the Pragativadi, a local daily, the incident took place in the village of Pithagola, about 30 km from the Keonjhar district headquarters. The district is about 235 km from Orissa's capital Bhubaneswar.

The daily said the accused persons paraded the woman after charging her with having an extramarital affair with a young man of the village. Several youths took her out of her house in the absence of her husband, stripped and maimed her before parading her through the village street amidst the beating of drums.

The paper said the entire episode was enacted in front of her relatives and other villagers. The victim, who refused to be identified to avoid being socially ostracized thereafter, filed a written complaint, which led to police arresting all those involved.

A case against the accused has been registered at the village's nearest police station of Harichandanpur, the paper said quoting Subhransu Sekhar Mishra, the police officer in charge. (IANS)