NEW DELHI (AFP) - A video secretly filmed by an Indian man - apparently showing his wife beating his elderly mother - has gone viral and led police to arrest the wife.

Suspecting his wife of regularly abusing the 70-year-old, Mr Sandeep Jain installed a CCTV camera in his mother's bedroom, telling police he intended to catch Mrs Sangeeta Jain red-handed.

The minute-long video shows Mrs Raj Rani Jain wrapped in a quilt in bed when a woman attacks her, hitting her repeatedly and dragging her by her hair.

Mrs Sangeeta Jain was arrested after her husband complained to the police on Monday (Jan 11) in Bijnor district in Uttar Pradesh state.

Mrs Raj Rani Jain told reporters in hospital her daughter-in-law slapped her and hit her with stones. "She was abusing me throughout the assault," she said.

Police have begun an investigation following the release of the video, which sparked anger on social media, with many demanding the accused woman be severely punished.

"We have recovered the video and questioned the woman. She will remain in custody," Dharm Veer Singh, a senior police officer in Bijnor, told AFP.

"There is a history of violence between the accused woman and her in-laws. We will find out the truth," he said.

Mrs Sangeeta Jain denies the allegations, claiming the video is fabricated and accusing her husband of trying to frame her.

She has also filed a domestic violence case against her in-laws and the couple are seeking a divorce.