Amaravati, June 17 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has taken serious note of an incident in which a woman was tied to a tree and thrashed over defaulting on a loan her husband had taken.

The incident occurred on Monday in the Kuppam Assembly constituency, represented by the Chief Minister in his home district of Chittoor.

The Chief Minister on Tuesday directed police to take stringent action against those involved in the inhuman treatment of a woman in Narayanapuram village of Kuppam mandal.

He spoke to the Chittoor district Superintendent of Police over the phone. The SP informed him that they had arrested the accused.

The woman was allegedly tied to a tree and humiliated because her husband, Thimmarayappa, failed to repay a loan he had taken from a person named Munikannappa.

Unable to bear the burden of debt, Thimmarayappa reportedly left the village. Following this, Munikannappa and his family members confronted Thimmarayappa’s wife over the unpaid dues and tied her to a tree.

CM Chandrababu Naidu ordered stringent action against Munikannappa and his family members for their cruel behaviour towards the victim.

The police on Monday arrested Munikappa, his wife Munemma, their son Raja, and daughter-in-law Jagadeswari.

CM Naidu directed the police official to make sure that such incidents do not recur. He also asked district officials to stand by and provide all necessary support to the victim’s family.

According to police, Thimmarayappa had taken a loan of Rs 80,000 from Munikappa. Unable to repay the loan, he left the village. His wife, Sirisha, was staying at her parents’ house in Kenchanaballa village and was working as a daily wager in Bengaluru to take care of her son.

On Monday, she came to Narayanapuram to collect the transfer certificate of her son from the village school. On learning about this, Munikappa, his wife and other relatives confronted her over the loan taken by her husband. They caught hold of her, tied her to a tree and thrashed her in front of her son.

On receipt of the information, police rushed to the village and rescued Sirisha. On her complaint, the police registered a case under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Police arrested Manikappa, who is said to be a member of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), his wife and others.

A video of the incident was widely circulated on social media. It shows Munemma slapping and hitting Sirisha despite villagers trying to stop her.

–IANS

ms/dpb