A newborn baby was branded an 'alien' and later shunned by his mother after being born with an extremely rare condition, this week. Khalida Begum, 35, gave birth to the as-yet-to-be-named baby on Monday night and was 'shocked' when she saw he had a small head and bulging eyes.

Doctors in India provisionally diagnosed him with an extremely rare genetic condition called Harlequin Ichthyosis, which gives sufferers thick skin and deformed features.

However, his symptoms also appear to be consistent with another uncommon defect called Anencephaly.

The mother-of-four, from Kathihar in the North Indian state of Bihar, initially demanded midwives remove him from sight.

'Several body parts of the baby is not completely developed,' she told local reporters. 'When I saw the baby after delivery for the first time, I was completely shocked to see the alien-looking boy. 'I couldn't believe that I had a delivered an alien-like boy. I was so shocked and saddened by this that I asked the midwife to take the baby out of my sight.'

Fortunately, several hours later, she relented and happily began nursing the child.

Since then villagers have been flocking to the family home, believing he is an incarnation of Hindu monkey God Hanuman....