Patna: A Dalit woman in Bihar was brutally assaulted and stripped naked for refusing to pay additional interest on a loan her husband had taken from a village strongman.

The man's son also urinated in her mouth, the police said.

Police said the woman's husband had borrowed ₹ 1,500 from Pramod Singh in Mosimpur village of Patna district.

The couple had repaid the whole amount, however, Pramod Singh had been demanding additional interest on the loan. 

When the couple refused, Pramod Singh, his son and their aides assaulted her and stripped her naked, police said.

In her complaint, the woman alleged that Pramod, his son Anshu and four other men forced her to come along with them on Saturday night while she was outside her home to get water from a handpump.

They thrashed her with sticks and stripped her naked at an isolated place in the village, officials said. Pramod Singh then asked Anshu to urinate in her mouth, officials said.

She somehow managed to escape. Her family members said that they went out looking for her at around midnight, and found her running towards the home naked.

The woman sustained serious head injuries and is being treated at a hospital, police said.

A complaint has been registered and a search is on to arrest the six men, they said.

"We have formed five police teams and searches are being conducted. A case has already been registered in this regard and further investigation is on," said Rajeev Mishra, Senior Superintendent of Police, Patna.

Source: NDTV