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A mob lynched a woman in India after rumours circulated on WhatsApp about child kidnappers.

More than 20 people have been killed in similar incidents over the past two months - with the latest coming days after the messaging service vowed to take action.

The unidentified woman was found mutilated on the edge of a forest in the Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh, a state in central India, on Sunday.

She was pursued by a mob after a rumour circulated that child kidnappers were operating in the region.

According to The Times of India, locals questioned her and then beat her to death.

Police have arrested nine men in connection with the lynching, but say they are looking for more people.

Singrauli police chief Riyaz Iqbal said: "We are trying to identify the victim and have circulated her picture to all the police stations."

The victim is thought to have been about 25 years old. India Today reported she may have been "mentally challenged".

The circulation of rumours via WhatsApp has led to the deaths of 22 people across India since March.

At the end of June, two forest officials were attacked on the basis on rumours shared through the network, but police intervened and they survived.

According to Scroll India, victims have included people asking for directions, transgender people and the poor.

On Friday, WhatsApp said it is testing its members ability to forward messages, and plans to test limiting the feature and removing the "quick forward" button next to messages.

It came after the Indian government had threatened legal action over the spate of lynchings, saying the "medium" for the rumours "cannot evade responsibility and accountability".

The messaging network also took out adverts in Indian newspapers to show people how to spot misinformation.

It has refused to let the Indian government trace the messages, pledging to keep end-to-end encryption.