A team of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in a drive rescued the baby from a village in Gazipur district during the early hours of Thursday. The elite force members arrested two women on charge of stealing the baby. The arrested persons have been identified as Rasheda Khanam alias Parvin, 48, and Bely Akhter alias Rahima, 45. The newborn baby was stolen from the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) on August 21, the RAB Officials said.
Mufti Mahmud Khan, Director of RAB’s Legal and Media Wing, said this in a press briefing at the elite force’s headquarters in the city’s Uttara where the baby’s parents Kawsar Hossain Babu and Runa Begum were also present.
The RAB officials said that their team raided the house of Parvin, a midwife by profession, following a secret information in Board Bazar area at about 2:45am. As per her statement, the RAB team went to the house of Sona Mia in the same area and arrested Bely Akhtar along with the newborn. Childless Bely bought the baby at Tk 40,000 from Parvin who work as midwife, went to the DMCH to visit one of his relatives on the fateful day.
After Ruma delivered the twins, Parvin took care of them to gain confidence of the couple and the following day she stole one of them, Mahmud said.
Parvin often steal babies from the clinics telling the parents that their babies were born dead and sell the infants to other people, the RAB officer said.
RAB personnel conducted raids in different areas to rescue the stolen baby following media outcry in the country, he said. “As a result, we could rescue the baby,” he added.
While talking to reporters, Kawser gave all the credit to the media for getting his baby back. He also thanked the government and RAB members for taking prompt initiatives to rescue his baby.
Expressing gratitude towards the media and the RAB, the father also expressed his hope that he wanted one of his sons to be a journalist while another a RAB person.
Ruma Akhter, delivered twin at the DMCH infant ward on August 20. She also thanked media, the government and RAB during the press briefing.
“It seems that I have got back the world in my hands,” said happy Runa Akhter holding her baby boy, who was stolen from DMCH, in her lap.
The words of Runa has created an emotional atmosphere in the press conference at RAB headquarters in the capital where Runa and her husband Kawsar Hossain Babu got back their baby son.
“I’ve passed last one week with pain in my heart. I’ve nothing else to gain. My deep gratitude to Almighty Allah as He gave back my child to me. I’ve strong faith in getting back my son,” said an emotion-choked mother.
On August 27, the High Court ordered judicial investigation into the baby stealing. The court ordered the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Dhaka to assign a magistrate to enquire into the matter and to find out the loopholes in the security of the ward concerned of the hospital and the administrative failure to protect the child on that day. Issuing a suo moto rule, the HC bench also ordered the police to provide protection to the parents of the missing child and to assist the magistrate in holding the probe.
