A woman was garlanded, humiliated, abused and thrashed by her husband in full public view in Nimapara, Puri district, on Tuesday evening over allegations of an extramarital affair.

The woman’s husband, aided by some locals, paraded her along with her male friend on the street.

Both the woman and her companion, a schoolteacher, were forced to walk nearly 300 metres in Nimapara town, about 50km from Bhubaneswar. The man was stripped half-naked. Police arrested the husband on Wednesday.

Inspector-in-charge of Nimapara police station, Bamadev Swain, told The Telegraph: “A case has been registered in this connection. We arrested the woman’s husband and one of his friends. Investigation is on.”

The woman, also a schoolteacher, had strained relations with her husband, a private college lecturer in Jagatsinghpur district. Frequent quarrels had led her to live separately in a rented house at Nimapara.

On Tuesday evening, he and his friends barged into her residence and allegedly found her with her male colleague in a “compromising condition.” They then dragged the two onto the streets, garlanded them with slippers, beat them and subjected them to relentless public ridicule. Videos of the act, recorded by the husband’s friends, soon surfaced on social media.

The incident has sparked outrage. Women’s rights activist Tapasi Praharaj said: “This is unacceptable in a civilised society. A woman has every right to choose how she lives. If she has committed any offence, only the police have the authority to act. No one has the right to publicly humiliate her.”

Congress spokesperson Amiya Pandab added: “We condemn this barbaric act. The police must take exemplary action against the husband...”