Pregnant woman beaten up over rumours of child-theft

New Delhi: A 48-year-old pregnant woman, who is deaf and mute, was thrashed by a mob over suspicions of being a child abductor in Northeast Delhi, the police said on Sunday. This incident comes close on the heels of mob attacks over similar rumours in the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh (UP).

Several people have been injured in violence over these rumours in UP in the past week, forcing the state police to warn the public that it has decided to invoke the stringent National Security Act against rumour-mongers.

The four-month pregnant woman was beaten up by a mob on August 27 over suspicion that she was a child lifter in Harsh Vihar, DCP (Northeast) Atul Kumar Thakur said.

A resident of Southeast Delhi’s Tughlakabad, the woman has been admitted at a hospital by her family and is stated to be stable, the police said.

The DCP said that a case has been registered against “unknown persons” under IPC sections for voluntarily causing hurt and wrongful restraint at the Harsh Vihar police station.

“Three accused, identified as Deepak (27), C Lalit Kumar (29) and B.Shakuntala (52), all resident of Mandoli, Delhi, were arrested after scrutinising footage. More arrests are likely soon in the case,” he said. He urged people to not pay heed to rumours of child abduction.

The woman’s family said her in-laws had expelled her from their Faridabad house on August 18 and she was missing since then. “Somehow, the woman reached Harsh Vihar and was living on the footpath. The locals used to give food to her. However, on August 27, they attacked her over allegations of child abduction,” the DCP added.

The family approached the Delhi police after seeing a video of the incident.