India, May 19 -- A young couple was brutally assaulted with hockey sticks and wooden batons in full public view on a busy road in Berhampur on Monday night, in an attack police suspect was linked to a long-running gang rivalry, triggering outrage across Odisha after videos of the incident went viral and prompted the detention of six persons.

The assault, captured on mobile phones and widely circulated online, showed a man and a woman being repeatedly beaten on Giri Road in Berhampur while bystanders watched without intervening.

The incident quickly acquired political overtones, with former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday launching a sharp attack on the BJP government over the state's law-and-order situation. In a strongl...