Woman assaulted on suspicion of being a child lifter in Farrukhnagar

Police said they later ascertained that the woman was allegedly stealing utensils from a shop and was mistaken to be a child lifter

A woman was allegedly assaulted in a crowded market area in Farrukhnagar on the suspicion of being a member of a child lifting gang, police said on Thursday.

Police said local residents recovered items such as spoon sets from the arrested woman’s bag. They said the woman was allowed to go home after her family was called to the police station, but was told to appear before the police later. (Representative image)

Police said they later ascertained that the woman was allegedly stealing utensils from a shop and was mistaken to be a child lifter.

Explaining the sequence of events, police said on Tuesday night three women came out of a utensils store and were walking away with a child when shop owner Bale Ram raised the alarm on realising that the women had stolen several small utensils from his shop.

Police said the three suspects panicked and one of them picked up her child and started to speedily walk away.

Police said a crowd had gathered there by then and they thought that the women were part of a child lifting gang after spotting one of them pick up the child and hastily walk away. They chased the women for at least 100 metres and managed to catch one of them, identified as Sunita (28). She was arrested from the spot by a police team that reached there after receiving a call from the shop owner.

Police said the two other women with her escaped in the commotion.

Inspector Jitender Singh, station house officer (SHO), Farrukhnagar police station, said all three had travelled from Delhi to Gurugram with a motive to shoplift.

SHO Singh said local residents recovered items such as spoon sets from the arrested woman’s bag. He said the woman was allowed to go home after her family was called to the police station, but was told to appear before the police later.

On Ram’s complaint, an FIR against the suspects was registered under Section 379 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Farrukhnagar police station on Tuesday night, said police.

“On Thursday, Sunita was granted bail after interrogation,” SHO Singh said, adding that the two other suspects were yet to be arrested.