Lingerie theft in Gujarat escalates to clash; 10 hurt

A skirmish broke out when the woman confronted the man who was nicking her intimates.

A dispute over stolen underwear escalated to a clash between two groups of the same caste in Ahmedabad's Dhandhuka taluka.

The incident occurred on June 27 in the Pachchham village when a 30-year-old woman accused her neighbour of nicking her undergarments for eight months.

"The woman was perplexed by the disappearance of her underclothes after they were put on the clothesline to dry", The Times of India reported an officer of the local police station saying.

The woman eventually caught the thief in the act using a covert mobile phone sting.

Reviewing the footage from June 26, the woman found her neighbour to be the culprit.

Read | Gujarat: Man strangles minor live-in partner to death, hangs himself

The local police said she covertly kept a watch on the man the next day, witnessed him steal her intimates, and then followed him to find a stash of stolen undergarments.

When she confronted the man, there was a skirmish, with the individual reportedly molesting and assaulting the woman.

The officer explained that the woman's cries brought her kin to the location. Armed with sticks, they attacked the man and his relatives. In retaliation, the man's relatives later attacked the woman's family.

Nearly 10 people were injured in the ensuing fracas and 20 people have been arrested from both sides, the inspector said.

He added that an FIR had been filed against the woman's kin for assault and rioting, while the man and nine of his relatives were booked for assault, molestation, and rioting.