HARIPUR: Police claimed to have arrested a woman for abducting a newborn from labour room of district headquarters hospital.

They said that the abducted baby was also recovered from her. City SHO Chanzeb Tanoli said that the newborn baby of Mohammad Javed, a resident of Shariyal village, was abducted from the labour room of district headquarters hospital on October 18.

The complainant told police that his stepmother-in-law and two to three unidentified women were present at the time of birth of his first male baby. He said when his sister went to a local eatery to bring lunch for the guests, his stepmother-in-law Nazia Bibi in connivance with his wife Aneela Bibi and three unidentified women got his newborn baby abducted from the hospital.

Police registered a case Nazia Bibi, Aneela Bibi and three other women under section 363/34 PPC. Police traced the newborn in Khalabat Township. Police arrested a woman identified as Sabira Bibi, wife of Kamran, and recovered the baby from her possession.

Police claimed that the alleged woman abductor happened to be one of the relatives of the family. The baby was later handed over to Aneela Bibi while the arrested woman was sent to Haripur jail on Thursday.

However, both the complainant’s wife and her stepmother, who were charged in the FIR, could not be arrested. Police said that the abduction of the newborn was the result of a family dispute between the wife and husband.

The medical superintendent of the hospital, Dr Mohsin Raza Turabi said that it was in fact a case of mishandling of the baby among the family members, who were already engaged in some dispute. However, he made it clear that none of his staff was involved in the abduction of the newborn.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2023