Bhubaneswar, June 20 -- Twenty-one people were arrested on Saturday over the alleged assault of two NGO workers amid suspicions that they were kidnappers in Odisha's Rayagada district, police said.

The assault took place on the night of June 16 in Kalyansinghpur block of Rayagada district, where a young woman from Delhi and her male colleague from Gujarat were allegedly attacked by villagers who mistook them for child kidnappers after rumours spread in the area, police said.

Rayagada superintendent of police (SP) Raj Prasad said the two NGO workers were travelling from Daringbadi to Thuamul Rampur block in Kalahandi district when they stopped at Kandulguda village under Dhamunipanga panchayat in Kalyansinghpur asking for directions. Dur...