Woman beaten up by doctor, suffers miscarriage

Anjum suffered a miscarriage after being beaten up and kicked in stomach by her landlady's brother.

A 22-year-old woman allegedly suffered a miscarriage after she was allegedly beaten up by a doctor and her landlady along with some other people in Mandawli area in east Delhi. The incident was reported on Monday evening when the victim, identified as Anjuman, was allegedly pushed and beaten by a doctor - a pharmacist in the area. She was over three months pregnant and suffered a miscarriage due to the beating, she alleged. 

A case of causing death of an (quick) unborn child by an act amounting to culpable homicide and house trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint has been registered in Mandawli police station. "We are looking into the allegations and have registered a case on merit. We will investigate the matter from all angles," said deputy commissioner of police (east) Prabhakar. 

Anjuman was rushed to Lal Bahadur Shastri hospital where she was later reported stable. "She came into the labour room around 11pm on Monday and alleged that she had started bleeding after being pushed by someone. We checked her vitals which were okay and on medical examination it was found that she was 3.5 months pregnant and had partially expelled the product. The rest of the foetus was evacuated from her uterus. There were no external injury marks and there was no requirement for blood transfusion. When she came in it was an incomplete abortion," explained the hospital's deputy medical superintendent, Dr Amita Saxena. 

The victim's family alleged that she had been alone with her sister-in-law in their third-storey residence in Mandawli when they were attacked. "We were inside our house when there was knocking on the door. I opened the gate and the doctor, the landlady and two other men barged in and started dragging me by the hair and slapping me. They pushed me and the doctor kicked me on my stomach after which I started bleeding profusely," claimed Anjuman. 

Meanwhile, her sister-in-law Meena said, "On seeing them attack us violently, I rushed to the bathroom to hide. One of the men was carrying a bottle of acid and I was scared he would throw it at me. I had a narrow escape." 

According to Anjuman, an argument had taken place on Sunday when the landlady had allegedly tried to break the stairs in front of their house. "I asked them to leave the staircase alone as it would make it impossible for us to move up and down the house. There was an argument and they left. But not in my wildest imagination did I think they would come back and attack in such a violent manner," she alleged.