Two more held for assaulting mute woman in east Delhi

On Sunday, the police had arrested three suspects in the case of assault — 27-year-old electrician Deepak, 52-year-old homemaker Shakuntala and 29-year-old professional photographer Lalit Kumar.

The Delhi Police on Monday arrested two more people — Aas Mohammad (32), a labourer and Savitri Devi (45), a homemaker — for assaulting a 26-year-old mute woman on suspicion of being a child-lifter in east Delhi’s Mandoli Extension. In all, five people have been arrested in the case so far.

Screengrab of the incident in Mandoli Extension that allegedly happened last week.

Deputy commissioner of police (northeast) Atul Kumar Thakur said the police were on the lookout for a sixth suspect — identified only as Arvind — and had sent teams out to nab him.

Arvind is the man who in the 70-second viral video of the incident is spotted bringing out a log to apparently assault the woman, said a senior police officer.

In the viral video clip, the mute woman can be seen folding her hands and touching the feet of a man in an apparent attempt to be let off. She then asks for some drinking water but a man in the crowd instead gets a log.

On Sunday, the police had arrested three suspects in the case of assault — 27-year-old electrician Deepak, 52-year-old homemaker Shakuntala and 29-year-old professional photographer Lalit Kumar.

Police had registered a case on Sunday based on the video that was being circulated on Whatsapp. The video showed a mob assaulting the woman, identified by her first name Priyanka, as she sat begging for mercy. The clip later led the woman’s family to know about her whereabouts and eventually united them with her.

“The woman has gone back to her maternal home in south Delhi’s Tughlaqabad. We have been in touch with her brother and will provide any assistance that the family may require,” said Thakur.

Meanwhile, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal said, “My team has been trying to reach out to the woman. We will ensure she is rehabilitated and her perpetrators are brought to justice.”

Police said they could not find any evidence that the woman was a child kidnapper.