After mob attacks in UP, pregnant woman beaten up in Delhi over child-theft rumours

A pregnant and deaf-mute woman was thrashed by a mob over suspicion of being a child-lifter in northeast Delhi, police said on Sunday, an incident which comes close on the heels of mob attacks over similar rumours in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.

Several people have been injured in violence over the rumours in UP over the past week, forcing the state police to warn public 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 she was a child lifter in Harsh Vihar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast) Atul Kumar Thakur said.

A resident of southeast Delhi's Tughlakabad, the woman has been admitted to a hospital by her family and stated to be stable, according to police.

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

"We are going through video footage to identify the attackers," 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 home on August 18 and she was missing since then.

"Somehow the woman reached Harsh Vihar and was staying on the footpath. Locals used to give food to her but on August 27, they attacked her over allegations of child theft," a police officer said.

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