Jaipur, July 23 (IANS) Eight people of a village caste council in Rajasthan's Udaipur district were arrested Monday, a day after they publicly beat and stripped a married woman and her boyfriend after tying them to a tree over their illicit relationship, police said.

The incident took place at Kolar village near Sarada town in Udaipur, some 400 km from Jaipur.

We have lodged a first information report (FIR) against about a dozen identified people. Eight of them were arrested Monday, said Udaipur's Superintendent of Police Hari Prasad Sharma.

Prakash Meena, 25, had an illicit relationship with a married woman in the village. They had eloped about 10 days ago. The villagers located the couple Saturday evening and held a caste council meeting to decide upon the punishment for them having illicit relations.

In front of the crowd of hundreds of villagers, Prakash and the woman were tied to a tree and stripped. They were then beaten up, said the officer. A police team rescued the couple almost after four hours.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also ordered an enquiry into the incident.

The Udaipur divisional commissioner has been asked to prepare a report within a week, a senior administration officer told IANS.