The man was beaten and forced to wear a garland of footwear after being accused of theft, official said.
The police have registered a case against three persons after a picture showing a man wearing a garland of shoes surfaced in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa district, an official said on Saturday.
The incident took place on June 22 at village Gangtira under Sohagi police station limits, some 65 km from the district headquarters, he said.
The man, later identified as Indrajeet Majhi, was beaten and forced to wear a garland of footwear after being accused of theft, the official said.
Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Anil Sonkar said that following a complaint by Majhi, a case was registered on July 6 against accused Deshpal Singh, his son and nephew under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections, including 294 (obscene acts), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 355 (assault with intent to dishonour a person), and 504 (provoking breach of the peace).
No arrests have been made yet, he said.
Sonkar said the police first received a complaint against Majhi alleging that he had assaulted Singh, his son and nephew on June 23.
When they recently took Majhi into custody, he told the police that the trio had accused him of theft and then thrashed and forced him to wear a garland of shoes the previous day.
Majhi also showed the picture of the incident which had also been widely shared on social media, he said.
Now, the police have registered a case against Deshpal Singh and two others and are searching for them, he said.
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