A female contract worker was viciously attacked by her male colleague after she reminded him to wear a coronavirus face mask in the office.
Bhaskar Rao beat Checuri Usharani with a broken-off chair arm as she crouched on the floor in fear in Dargamitta, in the south-Indian city of Nellore.
Ms Usharani was seriously injured in the assault and Rao - who is said to have held a grudge against his victim - has been arrested.
In footage of the attack caught on CCTV Rao - the deputy manager at the AP Tourism Hotel - grabs Ms Usharani by the hair and pulls her to the floor.
Still clutching her hair, he reaches over to the table and grabs the wooden chair arm.
He beats the terrified employee with it as another worker rushes over to stop the attack.
But Rao tries to shake the man off and continue his assault as another female employee - appalled at what she is witnessing - leaves the room.
Eventually, the man is pushed to the ground and Rao lifts his weapon high in the air before sending it crashing down on Ms Usharani.
He hits her a few times as a man in a cream-coloured shirt appears to try to reason with him. A third man then rushes forward to intervene.
This man is able to wrestle the wood from Rao's hand and the attacker stops his tirade of abuse.
Ms Usharani reported the attack to the police.
Dargamitta sub-inspector of police K Venugopal told local media: 'We have arrested the accused, C Bhaskar, working as deputy manager at the AP Tourism Hotel and he has been sent in judicial remand.
'A case was booked against him under Section 354 (assaulting a woman intending to outrage her modesty), 355 (using force to dishonour a person) and 324 (causing injuries using a weapon).'
The police department in Nellore wrote on Twitter: 'Nellore district police are extremely sensitive to any violation or crime against women. Women's safety is our top priority.'
National Commission for Women chairperson Rekha Sharma tweeted: 'I am going to take it up right away. He needs to be booked for his act.'
This article has been adapted from its original source.
