Hangal (Karnataka): A group of six men forcibly entered a lodging room in Karnataka, attacking a couple for the ‘crime’ of being in a relationship despite belonging to different religious backgrounds.

Shocking footage of the assault has surfaced, coming close on the heels of another incident where two cousins were assaulted in the state as the attackers mistook them for an interfaith couple.

Police have registered a complaint filed by the couple, said the report.

"The attack took place on January 7 at Nalhara Cross in Hanagal. The six accused, who are from the minority community, have been charged with attempting to murder, kidnapping and outraging the modesty of a woman. Two of the six have been arrested and we are trying to locate the other four," a police officer was quoted as saying by NDTV.

The assailants took a video of the incident in which they can be seen loitering outside the lodge room in Hanagal Taluk of Haveri District.

After noting the room number, they knock on the door. When a man opens the door, they barge inside and straight away go to the woman, who then tries to shield herself with a burqa.

Uttering abusive language, the assailants physically attacked the woman, causing her to fall to the ground.

The miscreants also beat up the man, who gets caught by two or three attackers when he tries to flee the room.

One of the assailants corners the woman near the bed, while another strikes her and drags her to the floor once again.

In another video, apparently recorded outside the lodging facility just after the assault, the woman is seen trying desperately to cover her face.

However, the attackers forcibly lift her hijab and record her.

Following the disturbing incident, the victim couple lodged a complaint at the Hanagal police station, after which police arrested of two out of the six accused, both belonging to the minority community.

In another incident on Tuesday, seven men were held for assaulting two cousins in Belagavi.

The perpetrators from the minority community took the cousins for an interfaith couple.

They kept on thrashing both the young man and woman even as they kept clarifying that they were not a couple.