The couple was allegedly kidnapped and beaten. (Representational)
A 29-year-old woman and her husband were allegedly kidnapped, stripped and thrashed by eight people to force them to withdraw an old rape complaint in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district, police said on Tuesday.
The incident took place on February 24 near the civil hospital in Aurangabad but came to light after a video of the incident went viral on social media on Monday, said an official.
"When the couple was going home in an autorickshaw at around 8:20pm on that day, a person seated next to them subjected the couple to inhalation sedation. They were then taken to a room, confined, and asked to withdraw a rape complaint lodged by the woman in 2016 against some of them," he said.
The couple was stripped and beaten with belts after petrol was poured on them, he said.
"After a video of the incident went viral on Monday, we approached the couple and registered a case of attempt to murder, criminal intimidation and other offences under IPC and Information Technology Act in Tophkhana police station against eight persons," the official informed.
Among those who assaulted the couple are the woman's brother, her two brothers-in-law, as well as two people who posed as policemen, he said.