RAWALPINDI: The woman charged with stealing a newborn boy from the Military Hospital (MH) allegedly committed the crime to avert the breakdown of her fourth marriage by pleasing her husband who had no son.

The newborn, who was allegedly stolen by Tanseer Fatima, 41, from the maternity ward of the hospital on April 17, was reunited with his parents on April 26.

Two teenage daughters of the woman from her first husband were also arrested by the police from their rented house at Bangash Colony in Pirwadhai.

However, the teenage daughters and the fourth husband of the woman were acquitted of the charges after a brief investigation as their involvement in the crime could not be proved. The woman was formally arrested and sent to the Adiala jail on Tuesday.

Investigator claims she committed the crime to save her fourth marriage to a man who had no son

One of the investigators said the first marriage of the woman with an armed forces personnel ended after she gave birth to three daughters. She then tied the knots with another man but the marriage ended after only two months.

The woman’s third marriage also ended in a divorce as the man did not allow her to keep her three daughters with her. Later, she married Rab Nawaz in Rawalpindi after he allowed her to keep her three daughters in the house. But relations between the couple remained strained due to domestic issues.

The investigator said as Rab Nawaz had no son, the woman planned to steal a newborn baby boy to please her. Nine months ago, she started telling her neighbours that she was pregnant. Since the woman had been visiting the MH along with her first husband, she was familiar with the security and other issues at the hospital. The investigator said none of the hospital staff was found involved in the newborn’s theft but their negligence was evident as no one was present at the reception counter when the woman took the baby away.

He said after stealing the baby, the woman took him straight to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) to get him checked and then to a private hospital in Islamabad as the baby had not taken any feed since birth. The baby was kept in the nursery at the private hospital and later discharged. The woman then informed her friends and daughters that she had delivered a baby boy.

“Initially, the police were suspicious that a gang of kidnappers might be involved in the crime but when the suspect was arrested through the help of a video footage recorded at the MH, it emerged that it was an individual act,” the investigator added.

He said the woman had two brothers who disassociated from her after she got her third divorce and contracted the fourth marriage in Rawalpindi.

The IO said the challan of the case had been completed as the woman had confessed to stealing the baby. However, her two daughters and husband were acquitted of the charges as their involvement in the case could not be proved.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2015

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